Protagen AG Joins RA-MAP Consortium

The overarching goal of the Consortium is to identify the key predictors of clinical response and remission in RA patients, and to identify those individuals at high risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). 

RA is one of the most common auto-immune diseases in the world. RA patients may experience difficulties with everyday tasks and restricted work options. Thus, RA has massive health economic implications. Early intervention gives immediate patient benefit and reduces healthcare costs. By understanding the human immune system in RA through the study of biological samples from RA patients RA-MAP plans to develop an ‘immunological toolkit’ measuring the immune status of healthy individuals and patients.

Professor John Isaacs, Director of the Institute of Cellular Medicine and Professor of Clinical Rheumatology at Newcastle University, who leads the Consortium, said: “We are delighted that Protagen joins our RA-MAP consortium, contributing their proprietary SeroTag® platform to our search for biomarkers in RA. In RA, there is a major need to identify the characteristics of those individuals most likely to achieve clinical remission so that both new and existing therapies can be targeted to the right patient populations.”

Stefan Müllner, Protagen CEO, adds, “Our innovative diagnostic technology for the first time allows the systematic discovery of biomarkers predicting remission and the response to treatments in RA. As such it enables new approaches to successful drug development and support patients, rheumatologists, payers and the pharma industry in our combined effort to improve patient management by rationalizing treatment decision especially early during disease course. This is exactly what RA-MAP is aiming for and we feel privileged to be part of the Consortium and support these efforts.”