BU Amyloidosis Center receives grant to develop new amyloid diagnostics
The Amyloidosis Center has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Improving Diagnosis of AL Amyloidosis (IDEA) QuickFire Challenge, run by the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) innovation/JLabs. The research, led by Dr. Gareth Morgan, will develop new approaches to identify individuals at risk of AL amyloidosis, and also to help distinguish AL amyloidosis from ATTR amyloidosis. Faster and more accurate diagnosis of amyloidosis is a critical step in getting patients onto the most effective therapies.
AL amyloidosis is often diagnosed late, after the onset of symptoms caused by amyloid fibrils in vital organs. In most cases, the antibody light chain proteins that form amyloid are present for years before symptoms begin, but it is not possibly to tell which proteins represent a risk and which are benign. Our approach is to investigate whether antibody light chains that are especially prone to forming amyloid fibrils can be detected and characterized in blood samples. Our long-term goal is to develop a diagnostic test that can be carried out in a typical pathology laboratory, to maximize the chances of detecting amyloidosis early.
The IDEA Challenge is designed to accelerate research and products that could help diagnose AL amyloidosis. J&J are the makers of daratumumab, the only medicine specifically approved by the FDA for AL amyloidosis. A total of nine groups from around the world were selected for funding. We are grateful to the company for supporting our research and for the work they are doing to treat amyloidosis.