Aperiomics Presents Innovative Diagnostics Technology

One of those companies was Aperiomics: CEO Crystal Icenhour, PhD in pathobiology and molecular medicine presented their technology, its potential impact, and the company’s funding needs at Biotech Showcase 2015. Aperiomics was founded in October 2013; in November 2014 the firm announced the launch of its first commercial services at the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) annual meeting. Additional private funding is currently being sought to expand operations and service capacity.

Dr. Icenhour explained how Aperiomics is combining genomics and informatics in a novel way to produce faster and more accurate results than culture-based or even other molecular-based diagnostic approaches. From a single test, the company’s innovative technology can simultaneously test for all types of pathogens whether bacteria, virus, fungus, or parasite. The sample can be tissue, blood, plant, animal, or environmental. The process capitalizes on high-throughput next-generation sequencing and advanced Bayesian statistics. This technology not only finds the “needle in the haystack,” but also can reveal that “a needle” is lurking there even if it has never been previously identified elsewhere.

Also for times of public health crises due to infectious disease outbreaks, Aperiomics’ unique system offers breakthrough capabilities in pathogen discovery, providing diagnoses in difficult cases of unknown etiology, pathogen surveillance, and monitoring of natural animal populations, as well as more routine pathogen detection. “The majority of pathogens are currently never identified. Thus, the advantages of accurate determination can be measured by improvements in human health, significant health care cost savings, and reduced risks to public health,” said Dr. Icenhour.

The company’s platform technology has broad application across diverse markets, such as health care, agriculture, and industrial.

Jeff Gallagher, CEO of Virginia Bio, notes, “Much of the promise of the future of health care and biomedical research depends on innovative use of data analytics. Done right, this will yield speed, power, and insights well beyond forerunner products and services based solely on biology and chemistry. It will open up unimaginable new opportunities to create value for patients worldwide.” Virginia Bio hosted a reception to highlight Virginia-based technologies.

The technology behind Aperiomics’ services is the result of collaboration by 3 of the firm’s co-founders, a team that includes some of the best minds in genomics and bioinformatics. Company President Keith A. Crandall, PhD, is director of the Computational Biology Institute at George Washington University; Chief Technology Officer W. Evan Johnson, PhD, is assistant professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics at the Boston University School of Medicine; and Chief Science Officer Eduardo Castro-Nallar, PhD, trained in bioinformatics at George Washington University.

Related Links:
Aperiomics
Biotech Showcase 2015