PlaqueTec and the Babraham Institute’s Flow Cytometry facility have announced a collaboration to develop and improve treatment for coronary artery disease (CAD).
Both will develop a bespoke cell phenotyping assay for human blood to be used to analyse the blood of patients with CAD to catalogue cell types at the coronary disease sites.
Responsible for around 68,000 deaths per year in the UK, CAD occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart are narrowed or blocked by atherosclerotic plaques.
The Babraham Institute’s Flow Cytometry facility is currently one of the UK’s leading facilities, pioneering the latest flow cytometry technology and expertise.
PlaqueTec aims to focus on understanding the biological mechanisms of CAD to advance the development of precision medicine.
Current treatment approaches for CAD are general, as opposed to tailored for individuals, and can be ineffective for many patients.
PlaqueTec’s proprietary technology and data analysis platform to categorise patients and uncover potential biomarkers of coronary vascular functions, along with the institute’s cell sorting services, will be used to develop a cell phenotyping assay for human blood.
This development will provide data on the types of cells that accumulate at coronary disease sites, which, when combined with multi-omics and imaging data, could improve personalised treatment options for CAD.
The project will utilise the assay to perform cell phenotyping analysis on coronary artery samples from patients who participated in PlaqueTec’s BIOPATTERN trial using the company’s Liquid Biopsy System, a sampling device.
Dr Diane Proudfoot, chief scientific officer, PlaqueTec, said: “We anticipate these studies will help us to better understand CAD on an individual patient level, informing the development of precision medicine approaches to improve the outcome for patients.”
Dr Rachael Walker, head of the Flow Cytometry Facility, Babraham Institute, said: “The assay validation studies have already supported our teaching courses and staff development, and we look forward to adding this service to our flow cytometry offering at the Babraham Institute.”
