DxTerity Diagnostics IFN-1 Test

DxTerity Diagnostics has launched the IFN-1 Test for determining a systemic lupus erythematosus patient's type 1 interferon status and the risk of progressing to lupus nephritis. The firm launched the test after releasing results of a longitudinal clinical study with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, to be presented on Nov. 11 at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in Atlanta. The test, DxTerity said, is currently being used to select and monitor patients for SLE clinical trials. While therapies targeting IFN-1 have shown promise in Phase II clinical studies, they have had disappointing results in Phase III randomized trials. The ability to select patients who overexpress IFN-1, based on RNA profiling, is seen as crucial for the future success of clinical trials, DxTerity said. The IFN-1 assay a gene expression module contained within the company's Modular Immune Profile assay, which was developed to measure the relative gene expression of immune system-related genes.