Medidata, a cloud-based solution provider for clinical research, said it has discovered a biomarker for a rare disease by using its machine learning solution.

Biomarkers are indicators that objectively measure and evaluate drug response in target drug development.

Medidata and the Castleman Disease Collaborate Network (CDCN) announced the discovery of the biomarker for Castleman Disease at the 60th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology on Dec. 4.

Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease (IMCD) is a rare and disease that is difficult to diagnose and life-threatening. It affects lymph nodes of the whole body to proliferate. The disease is often misdiagnosed as cancer.

Medidata said its machine learning-based solution called Rave Omics found the Castleman Disease’s biomarker. Rave Omics captures the patient’s genetic information, connects it with other data in clinical trials, and streamlines data analysis.

To improve the diagnosis of Castleman Disease, Medidata looked for patients who could try licensed treatments and utilized Rave Omics with CDCN, which was conducting clinical research to explore drug targets for new therapy development.

The company said it found “six new patient subsets reflecting either distinct subtypes or proteomic disease states, evidence of proteomic predictors of anti-interleukin-6 treatment response, and etiological insights into the poorly understood rare disease and toward new potential drug targets,” through collaboration with CDCN.

The discovery of the biomarker gave new insights into treatment response and potential new drug targets, highlighting the value of precision medicine, Medidata said.

“Rare diseases often lack sufficient sample sizes and necessary resources to make critical discoveries, which has limited the development of new treatment options for patients,” said Dr. David Fajgenbaum, co-founder and executive director of the CDCN.

This collaborative study combined patient samples from around the world and the Rave Omics tool, to overcome these challenges and help to understand this disease better. We are now working together to use this data to personalize treatment for Castleman disease, he added.

Glen de Vries, co-founder and president of Medidata, said the company’s data analysis helps researchers develop therapies for all patients including those with rare diseases.

“We’re proud to help make personalized medicine and the development of targeted treatments possible with Rave Omics,” he said.

Copyright © KBR Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution prohibited