GNS, the leader in the use of “Virtual Patients,” Causal AI and simulation technology for biopharmaceutical drug discovery and development, and the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation® (GAP) today announced a 3-year partnership.
This innovative partnership will leverage the fully de-identified dataset of rich clinico-genomic data from GAP’s Bio-Hermes study to build the next generation Gemini Virtual Patient in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
The data from the groundbreaking Bio-Hermes study includes samples from more than 1,000 volunteer participants. This is the first Alzheimer’s platform study to prioritize diversity in the study protocol. It is the largest AD trial of its kind evaluating biomarkers, surrogate markers, and cognitive tests. More than 20 percent of participants are Black or Hispanic, which is more than four times that of the average Alzheimer’s clinical trial.
“This collaboration will help accelerate research for treatments and expedite state-of-the-art AI-driven discoveries in AD. We know synergistic alliances like this will lead to increased innovation, as we incorporate novel biomarkers with intentional inclusion to make treatments that work for everyone,” said GAP President John Dwyer. “We are thrilled to partner with GNS. Together we will unlock the insights contained in the data and provide new hope to all who are impacted by this terrible disease.”
“GAP’s Bio-Hermes study database includes data from some of the most advanced blood and digital biomarker tests available, the corresponding genomic data, from the most diverse patient group ever studied,” said Colin Hill CEO and Co-founder of GNS. “We expect this partnership will accelerate our work in AD and help unravel the complex circuity of the disease and advance efforts with partners to discover and develop breakthrough, life-improving drugs.”
Under the terms of the agreement, GNS will utilize its Gemini Virtual Patient technology with data from GAP to build “Digital Twins” in AD. For the first time, this will enable the running of experiments such as gene and protein knockdown and knockout studies, in a virtual human patient to help uncover novel combinations of disease drivers and drug targets. The Virtual Patients will also allow clinical trial simulations that will discover new biomarkers that can indicate the progression of the disease and discover potential new treatment options that map to an individual Alzheimer’s patients’ disease state, genetic, and demographic group. Ultimately, the partnership between GAP and GNS will generate insights that will improve researcher’s understanding of the molecular, genetic, and pathological heterogeneity of AD, its progression over time, and result in important new biomedical advances for patients fighting against Alzheimer’s.
