Background:
- IBD prevalence is rising, creating a growing need for improved disease monitoring
- Current tools are invasive or insufficient to accurately assess presence, location, and extent of intestinal inflammation
- There is a clear unmet need for reliable, minimally invasive biomarkers to support disease stratification and treatment decisions.
Our innovation:
- Non-invasive biomarker approach based on analysis of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in stool and blood
- Utilizes DNA methylation markers to identify tissue-specific and cell-type–specific cfDNA
- Enables inference of intestinal segment involvement and immune cell death patterns
- Exploits the elevated presence of human DNA in stool of IBD patients compared to healthy individuals
Advantages:
- Non-invasive disease assessment using stool and blood samples
- Potential to identify active inflammation
- Potential to distinguish disease location along the intestine
- Potential correlation with disease severity
Commercial Opportunity:
- We are seeking collaboration with diagnostics companies and pharmaceutical / biotech companies active in IBD
- Opportunities for licensing or co-development of a cfDNA-based diagnostic and monitoring assay for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Contact in Yissum: Ariela Markel
