NEW YORK – LinusBio said Wednesday that it is partnering with the nonprofit BRAIN Foundation to advance autism biomarker research and early detection.
As part of the collaboration, LinusBio will offer discounts on its ClearStrand-ASD autism test to researchers funded by the nonprofit BRAIN Foundation. The foundation, which funds translational research on treatments to improve the standard of care for comorbidities in individuals with autism, will encourage these researchers to incorporate LinusBio's assay into their research.
LinusBio, a spinout of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, aims to leverage the BRAIN Foundation's network of researchers to further advance autism-related diagnostic tools and therapies.
ClearStrand-ASD is designed to help physicians rule out autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children up to 36 months old, where autism is a concern. Using hair samples from infants as young as 1 month old, the assay scans for biomarkers of how the body responds to certain environmental exposures, such as metal metabolism, which some research has shown to differ between people with and without ASD.
LinusBio calls these exposure-related biomarkers the "exposome" and hopes that these molecular signatures can provide in-depth molecular insights into ASD pathology needed to help develop objective diagnostic tools for that spectrum of conditions.
The firm, which announced plans to launch its first ASD assay, StrandDx-ASD, in 2021, is also developing similar tests for other disorders, including schizophrenia, certain gut disorders, and pediatric cancers via its StrandDx platform.
Financial details of the partnership with the BRAIN Foundation were not disclosed.
"Objective, biological biomarkers like those developed by LinusBio have the potential to revolutionize early diagnosis, help researchers identify subtypes, predict treatment responses, and track symptom progression over time — advancing both research and care for the autism community," Sarika Agrawal, cofounder and board member of the BRAIN Foundation, said in a statement.