Epigenetics company Volition has announced the results of two proof-of-concept clinical studies for its Nu. Q assays. The studies aimed to confirm whether circulating nucleosomes could serve as a potential prognostic marker for Covid-19 disease severity.
Researchers tested two independent cohorts of Covid-19 patients with quantitative nucleosome immunoassays, and found that nucleosomes were highly elevated in plasma of severe Covid-19 patients relative to healthy control subjects. They also found that both histone 3.1 variant and citrullinated nucleosomes increased with disease severity.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The highest levels of nucleosomes were found in patients requiring ventilation and other oxygen therapies, leading the researchers to believe that nucleosomes could serve as a biomarker for disease severity in Covid-19 patients.
Volition CEO Cameron Reynolds said: “Nu.QTM has shown correlation with more severe Covid-19 cases implying strong prognostic potential, and we are now focused on the completion of larger longitudinal studies that would be needed to support a potential Covid-19 product launch. If we continue to see positive results in these longitudinal studies, we aim to have a CE-marked product available on multiple platforms in 2020 and will look to launch a low-cost product that could be used in any laboratory worldwide as soon as possible thereafter.”
