NIH Awards IQuity $320K Grant to Identify Alzheimer's Disease Early
Fourth peer-reviewed grant builds upon IQuity's autoimmune diagnostic expertise and new healthcare analytics platform
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IQuity, a Nashville-based data analytics company that specializes in predicting, detecting and monitoring chronic disease, today announced it has received a $320,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grant will allow the company to expand its focus to include Alzheimer's disease and apply its genomic expertise to develop new diagnostic tools to help providers identify disease early.
As part of its research, IQuity will use its new machine learning-based data mining and analytics platform – which analyzes many types of information, including genomic and other healthcare datasets – to predict and detect Alzheimer's. IQuity launched its analytics platform in July.
Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., with 5.7 million people suffering from the disease. The Alzheimer's Association estimates the cost of healthcare and long-term care for individuals with Alzheimer's and dementias will total $277 billion in 2018.
"This grant further validates the promise our genomics research and data analytics capabilities holds for people suffering from this debilitating disease," said IQuity CEO Dr. Chase Spurlock. "IQuity's advances in RNA testing and data science have potential to create predictive diagnostic tools that will lead to an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's. New therapies that emerge for Alzheimer's will be most effective when administered early, which is difficult with today's diagnostic approach."
IQuity has received four grants totaling $2.62 million from the NIH through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, one of the country's largest sources of early-stage capital for technology commercialization. Each grant is awarded through an intensive peer review process.
"All of us at IQuity are excited and honored that the NIH supports our approach to developing innovative technology that can facilitate early detection and treatment responses for people affected by Alzheimer's," said Spurlock. "We are proud to be part of a global community of researchers and data scientists who are committed to discovering new early detection methods, prevention plans, treatments and, hopefully, a cure for Alzheimer's."
About IQuity:
IQuity is a data analytics company leveraging machine learning to predict, detect, monitor, and stratify severity of disease for healthcare stakeholders, thereby improving patient outcomes and lowering costs. We bring value by automating the process of creating tailored models for disease management at scale, resulting in a collection of comprehensive customer insights and data science approaches to solve complex problems. For more information, visit iquity.com and find IQuity on Facebook and Twitter at @iquityinc.
About the National Institute on Aging:
The NIA leads the federal government effort conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. The Institute's broad scientific program seeks to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. For more information on research, aging, and health, go to the NIA website at https://www.nia.nih.gov/.
CONTACT:
Leanna Bernhard
(615) 515.4896
[email protected]
SOURCE IQuity, Inc.
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