SEATTLE and REDMOND, Wash., May 5,
2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.
(Nasdaq: ADPT) announced on Tuesday it has begun enrolling a
virtual clinical study, ImmuneRACE, as part of a broader effort it
has undertaken with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) to rapidly map
and measure the immune response to the COVID-19 virus to inform
improved diagnostics to fulfill the need for more reliable testing.
The study calls for 1,000 participants in select U.S. metropolitan
areas impacted by COVID-19. De-identified data will be made freely
available to public health officials, academia and industry to help
accelerate solutions to the pandemic. LabCorp (NYSE: LH), through
its Covance drug development business, will manage the collection
of blood samples and nose/throat swabs from participants in the
comfort and safety of their own homes.
Additional multimedia resources are available at
https://www.adaptivebiotech.com/about-us/media-resources/.
There are currently two types of tests for COVID-19. PCR tests
indicate the presence of live virus from a nose or throat swab, and
serology tests indicate exposure to and potential immunity against
the virus by measuring the presence of antibodies in the blood.
Adaptive and Microsoft believe a third type of test can potentially
help address current challenges with testing, resulting in the
following scenarios:
- Complementary or alternative diagnostic testing for individuals
with known exposures or symptoms
- Ability to triage patients and inform treatment strategies
based on risk
- Ongoing immunity surveillance testing of the population to
inform decisions on restrictions
"We've spent the past decade learning how the adaptive immune
system naturally detects and treats all disease, and we are
well-positioned to apply our immune medicine platform specifically
to COVID-19. We're hopeful that we can contribute important
information that will become part of an immune scan to help reopen
society," said Chad Robins, CEO and
co-founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies. "As many are
sheltering in place wondering how they can help, we wanted to
launch ImmuneRACE with Microsoft and give people an
opportunity to participate. These efforts are complementary to many
global initiatives underway to study the virus itself."
As part of the study, the partners will measure the presence of
specialized cells of the immune system in the blood, called T
cells, that identify the disease early on and proliferate to combat
the infection. Together, Adaptive and Microsoft are mapping and
measuring the immune response of T cells specific to many diseases
and are now applying their combined capabilities to COVID-19.
"We are dedicated to being part of the solution
against COVID-19," said Peter
Lee, corporate vice president, AI and Research, Microsoft.
"Immune response data may augment what we have been learning to
date to help determine who is at greater risk of developing more
severe symptoms and may help with future containment efforts.
Anyone who has been affected by COVID-19 holds key information that
can help contain and manage the virus."
In March, the companies announced an expansion of their
existing partnership to use machine learning to map the immune
system response to many different diseases, including infectious
diseases, autoimmune disorders and cancer, at scale to study
COVID-19. The information obtained from study participants,
including how the immune system identifies the virus and how people
are responding to the virus, will be integrated with data obtained
from samples provided by hospitals and other institutions across
the globe. The accuracy of the immune response signature will
be continually improved and updated online in real time as more
study samples are sequenced and by using Microsoft's
hyperscale machine learning capabilities and the Azure cloud
platform.
Other industry leaders, including Illumina and Providence, have also joined forces with
Microsoft and Adaptive to accelerate this critical effort against
COVID-19.
How to Join ImmuneRACE
ImmuneRACE will enroll 1,000 individuals from more than 20
metropolitan areas in the U.S. You can be part of the solution if
you are between the ages of 18 and 89 and:
- Currently have COVID-19
- Have recently recovered from COVID-19
- Were exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19
If you decide to participate and qualify for the study, you will
be asked to provide relevant information about your medical
history, symptoms and previous diagnostic tests. Patients who
qualify for the study can schedule a blood draw and swab collection
in the convenience of their own home. The phlebotomist completing
sample collection will be using appropriate personal protective
equipment to safely conduct the visit when entering participant's
homes.
Every effort will be made to ensure confidentiality of protected
health information in accordance with HIPAA. Those wanting to
participate or learn about more ways to join in the fight against
COVID-19 should visit www.ImmuneRACE.com.
About the Adaptive and Microsoft partnership
Adaptive and Microsoft partnered in 2018 to create a TCR-Antigen
Map, an approach to translating the genetics of the
adaptive immune system to understand at scale how it works.
Together we are using immunosequencing and machine learning to map
T-cell receptor (TCR) sequences to diseases and disease-associated
antigens. Using these data, we aim to develop a blood test for the
early and accurate detection of many diseases, translating the
natural diagnostic capability of the immune system into the clinic.
In 2019, we confirmed clinical signals in two diseases, and
established our first proof of concept in Lyme Disease. Adaptive
expects to submit our first clinical application to the FDA in
2020.
About Adaptive Biotechnologies
Adaptive Biotechnologies is a commercial-stage biotechnology
company focused on harnessing the inherent biology of the adaptive
immune system to transform the diagnosis and treatment of
disease. We believe the adaptive immune system is nature's most
finely tuned diagnostic and therapeutic for most diseases, but the
inability to decode it has prevented the medical community from
fully leveraging its capabilities. Our proprietary immune medicine
platform reveals and translates the massive genetics of the
adaptive immune system with scale, precision and speed to develop
products in life sciences research, clinical diagnostics, and drug
discovery. We have two commercial products, and a robust clinical
pipeline to diagnose, monitor and enable the treatment of diseases
such as cancer, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases. Our
goal is to develop and commercialize immune-driven clinical
products tailored to each individual patient. For more information,
please visit adaptivebiotech.com and follow us on
www.twitter.com/adaptivebiotech.
About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the
genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global
leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving
customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our
products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology,
reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To
learn more, visit www.illumina.com and follow @illumina.
About LabCorp
LabCorp (NYSE: LH), an S&P 500 company, is a leading global
life sciences company that is deeply integrated in guiding patient
care, providing comprehensive clinical laboratory and end-to-end
drug development services. With a mission to improve health and
improve lives, LabCorp delivers world-class diagnostics solutions,
brings innovative medicines to patients faster, and uses technology
to improve the delivery of care. LabCorp reported revenue of more
than $11.5 billion in 2019. To learn
more about LabCorp, visit www.LabCorp.com, and to learn more about
LabCorp's Covance drug development business, visit
www.Covance.com.
About Providence
Providence is a national,
not-for-profit Catholic health system comprising a diverse family
of organizations and driven by a belief that health is a human
right. With 51 hospitals, 1,085 physician clinics, senior services,
supportive housing and many other health and educational services,
the health system and its partners employ more than 119,000
caregivers serving communities across seven states – Alaska, California, Montana, New
Mexico, Oregon,
Texas, and Washington, with system offices in
Renton, Wash., and Irvine, Calif.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital
transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an
intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every
organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corporation