Irish Medtech Company Launches ‘Find Akkure’ Project
- Initiative aims to use individuals’ genetic profile to develop new medical technologies and potential cures for life threatening illnesses
Akkure Genomics Ireland, an Irish medtech company headquartered at NexusUCD, has announced details of a ground-breaking project which is aimed at developing new medical technologies and potential cures for life threatening illnesses.
Akkure, which creates ‘Medical Digital Twins’ - a unique virtual copy of a patient’s entire genetic makeup - plans to do this by generating sets of patient-owned genetic data for cohorts of people with conditions such as MS, MND and cancer.
By grouping the data together on Akkure’s system, the company’s researchers will be able to mine this powerful data for key insights and help clinicians develop new technologies and potential cures through precision medicine.
Akkure is inviting people across Ireland with active medical conditions, their families or charities to register their interest in project ‘Find Akkure’. The company will heavily subsidise the cost of digitising the DNA of the first cohort of 100 people who sign up with a particular condition.
The ‘Medical Digital Twins’ a valuable data asset – which is stored cryptographically and accessed via blockchain technology - will at all times remain the property of the patient.
Akkure’s founder and Chief Executive Professor Oran Rigby, a consultant in intensive care medicine and surgery said, “This is the first time ever a project like this has been undertaken anywhere in the world using this technology and we are hugely excited about it. In order for researchers to be able to find new cures, they need access to large amounts of DNA data based on specific patient communities.”
“By studying this, researchers may unlock new insights into targets for therapeutics or new treatment options for chronic disease. When enough people join ‘Find Akkure’, our systems will unlock a whole new era in precision medical research.”
Professor John Crown, a senior consultant medical oncologist, former senator and cancer trials expert at St Vincent’s University Hospital is chair of Akkure’s medical research board and said, “The future of precision medicine will be deploying our DNA data at scale to establish why people get ill, how disease affects them, and how to cure them.”
“Akkure is leading the way in the development of this next generation of precision medicine. We now have the technology to empower patients to be part owners of this process, and I would urge people with active medical conditions, their families, and relevant charities to register their interest in ‘Project Akkure’ and join us on our journey.’’
DNA, our genetic makeup, is increasingly being utilised by researchers to find new cures and treatments. This personalised approach is known as precision medicine and heralds a new era in medicine.
However, to date, this powerful data has often been used by 3rd parties without the knowledge, ownership, or control of the patients themselves. On Akkure’s system, people can securely store, control, and share their data, becoming part of large communities of patients who may then grant access to accredited parties in the future.
Medical grade genetic sequencing is expensive and difficult to access. Akkure will heavily subsidise the cost of digitising the DNA of the first cohort of 100 people who sign up with a particular condition.
The full cost of creating a person’s ‘Medical Digital Twins’ is €400 but this will be reduced to a one-off contribution of €100 for members of the first eligible cohort.
The company is hoping that if sufficient cohorts of patients with other diseases register their interest it will be able to secure sponsorship from pharmaceutical companies and so push down the costs of further studies.
Patients and charities who are interested in joining the ‘Find Akkure’ campaign can get more information on how to sign up or register their interest at www.akkure.com/join-findakkure-project/.
ENDS
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or Kieran Garry, GPR Communications, e: kierangarry@gprcomms.com.
Editors Notes
Akkure was founded by Professor Oran Rigby, a consultant in intensive care medicine and surgery and Professor Amy Hollingsworth an Australian respiratory and lung transplant medical consultant in Dublin in 2019. The company, which employs 20 people, has secured major funding through the Government’s Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund and Enterprise Ireland along with their consortium partners Microsoft and FutureNeuro at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. www.akkure.com