Novel test can identify patients at risk of Covid

Washington, September 19

Scientists in the US have developed a new genomic test that can predict a patient’s risk of developing severe Covid, an advance that could help doctors quickly begin tailored treatment.

The test proved over 90 per cent accurate at predicting patient outcomes for Covid among over two dozen patients in intensive care and 100 patients from publicly available data, the researchers said.

The test, called CovGENE, analyses genes expressed in a person’s blood to determine whether they may experience a severe disease course with increased risk of death.

“We have come far in the prevention and treatment of Covid in the past two years. Regardless, we still struggle to identify patients at highest risk for severe disease,” said Alexandra Kadl, from the University of Virginia, US.

“Our study uses a gene-analysis approach to identify an immune cell signature, distinct from other respiratory illnesses, that correlates with worse outcomes,” Kadl said in a statement.

CovGENE’s developer, AMPEL Biosolutions, is seeking to partner with a diagnostic testing company or pharmaceutical company to bring the approach to market as a simple PCR-based blood test. — PTI

CovGENE analysis

• Immune profiling helps in understanding why one person may differ from another in their immune response to a virus, looking specifically at the immune markers and cells present over time
• This analysis can help determine the likelihood of disease, individual response to a virus and the impact of vaccinations