[OXFORD, OHIO, May 8, 2018] – MedCity News and Mid-America Healthcare Investors Network hosted a pitch competition in Chicago. It brought together the best startups across health IT, biopharma, health services, diagnostics and medical device categories. After narrowing down the applicant pool, 47 finalists took the stage from May 1-2.
Ischemia Care won the Diagnostic category.
An estimated 265,000 annual US stroke patients, or one-third of the population, have unknown stroke etiology (cause). Accurate etiology is a challenging, but a critical component of physician care for secondary stroke prevention.
When the cause of ischemic stroke is unknown, risk of recurrence may be increased. Knowing the cause can lead to improved outcomes and reduced costs.
While there is research to help uncover the most effective treatments, most cryptogenic stroke patients are given aspirin — the kind you find in the average person’s medicine cabinet.
The ability to more clearly define the cause of cryptogenic stroke has remarkable potential for treatment and reduction of recurring events. Ischemic Stroke Lab™ provides a new and unique approach to predicting stroke etiology that leverages gene expression profiling to provide a new source of information that may guide treatment decision-making.
When a stroke or TIA occurs, the immune system changes gene expression in multiple cell types. Each stroke subtype produces a unique gene pattern. Using genes validated in the BASE clinical trial (NCT02014896), Ischemic Stroke Lab now provides its first test, the ISCDx™ blood test, to stratify stroke patients by cause. ISCDx is offered with ISC’s proprietary hospital cost-effectiveness program. Service offerings target pharma companies to apply biomarkers, personalized medicine, health care economics, and data analytics.
According to Jeff June, “Ischemia Care is a venture-backed, diagnostic company commercializing blood tests for cause of stroke, including atrial fibrillation; across the stroke care continuum, including point of care.”
Blood drawn in the hospital provides test results during the inpatient stay. Working in partnership with Ischemic Stroke Lab, hospitals draw blood samples within 16-30 hours of stroke symptom onset. Ischemic Stroke Lab then provides a proprietary ISCDx test report back to the diagnosing physician.
Ischemic Stroke Lab’s proprietary RNA expression testing is built upon 15+ years of peer-reviewed publications.
Josh Goldsmith, Ischemic Stroke Lab’s Sales & Marketing Director, says, “ISCDx testing is easy to implement and cost effective. The process is simple: collect a sample, send to Ischemic Stroke Lab’s CLIA laboratory, and receive results, just as your hospital does with any other send-out test. Contact Ischemic Stroke Lab to make the test available at your facility.”