Helix Launches 23,000-Patient Clinico-Genomic Cohort for Autoimmune Diseases to Advance Drug Discovery and Development

SAN MATEO, Calif., March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Helix, a leader in population genomics and precision health, is announcing a new comprehensive clinico-genomic virtual registry of autoimmune disease patients. Consisting of over 23,000 individuals with conditions such as Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriasis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Hashimoto's disease, Crohn's and many more, it's one of the largest autoimmune cohorts in the world.

Autoimmune disease affects approximately 50 million Americans (~15% of the population), and has been on the rise in recent years, with incidence of conditions like Lupus, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Type 1 Diabetes nearly doubling over recent decades.

Helix has continued to expand the breadth and diversity of its research data ecosystem, with over 12 years of longitudinal and regularly refreshed clinical data (including patient demographics, diagnosis and key lab results) paired with whole Exome+® sequencing and medical and pharmacy claims data. Its virtual registries are designed to help researchers better understand autoimmune disease mechanisms, identify and validate drug targets, and help identify targeted patient populations based on genetic and phenotypic criteria for therapeutic development. Key features of the autoimmune virtual registry include:

• Over 23,000 consented patients with diagnoses such as RA, Lupus, MS, Psoriasis, Hashimoto's disease and Crohn's.
• Curation of more than 15 key autoimmune lab results including antinuclear antibody (ANA) tests, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and more.

"We are committed to advancing insights into the underlying genetic factors associated with complex and heterogenous autoimmune conditions," said James Lu, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Helix. "With one of the largest autoimmune clinico-genomic virtual registries in the world, we are providing life science researchers with deep insights from genetic and real-world data that may contribute to the development of new treatments for the millions affected by autoimmune conditions like celiac disease, which has increased five-fold in the past 30 years, and MS, with cases increasing by a third over the past decade."

This is Helix's latest therapeutic area-specific virtual registry within the Helix Research Network (HRN) – the largest and fastest growing precision clinical research network in North America. Earlier this year, Helix announced the launch of the largest GLP-1 agonist virtual registry in the world. All participants in the Helix Research Network consent to be recontacted for future research.

To learn more, visit www.helix.com/life-sciences.

About Helix:
Helix is the leading population genomics and precision health organization. Helix enables health systems, life sciences companies and payers to accelerate the integration of genomic data into patient care and therapeutic development. Learn more at www.helix.com.

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SOURCE Helix