Charité leads public-private partnership to develop a diagnostic platform
Berlin, 06.07.2023
Because it progresses so differently, multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered the “disease with a thousand faces”. The complexity of the disease also makes it difficult to treat. An international consortium led by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin wants to change that: It wants to develop an AI-supported online platform that can predict the course of MS individually. This should make it easier to determine the best therapy in each case. The project “Clinical impact through AI-assisted MS care” (CLAIMS) is now being funded for four years with almost 10 million euros as part of the EU’s Innovative Health Initiative.
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Depending on which nerve fibres are damaged, this can lead to visual disturbances, sensory disturbances, fatigue, concentration problems, motor and other neurological limitations. Worldwide, more than 2.8 million people are affected by this serious autoimmune disease, in Germany there are about 250,000. 70 to 80 percent of the patients are women. MS cannot be cured, but its course can be influenced favourably with the help of medication and other measures. For this, it is elementary that the treatment is tailored as individually as possible.
“With the CLAIMS project, we want to personalise the treatment of people with MS even more,” explains Prof. Dr. Friedemann Paul, coordinator of the initiative and director of the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint facility of the Charité and the Max Delbrück Center. “To this end, we will develop prediction models that can forecast the course of the disease for each patient on the basis of the individual data and simulate the effect of various drugs. An important component of this is the involvement of those affected.”
15 partners from 9 countries research multiple sclerosis
To develop the platform, the consortium combines the clinical, scientific, technical and communication expertise of 15 public and private partners from nine different countries – from clinics to universities to small and large companies as well as a foundation. Clinical data such as MRI images and results from blood and eye tests will be incorporated into the algorithms over the course of the disease. In addition, patients will be able to contribute information about their symptoms, their condition and also financial burdens via an app. The information will be transmitted pseudonymously and in compliance with data protection regulations, and analysed using the latest deep-learning-based AI models. The platform should also be able to take existing diseases into account.
The goal is to obtain as comprehensive a picture as possible of the individual MS disease. At the same time, the research team hopes to learn even more about multiple sclerosis – for example, how it develops with or without disease episodes. “We hope that the holistic view will make it possible in future for each and every person with MS to receive the right medication at the right time,” explains Prof. Paul. “I am convinced that this will enable us to significantly improve the quality of life and prognosis of people with MS.”
About CLAIMS
CLAIMS is one of the first five projects to be funded under the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) with approximately €9.9 million over four years. The grant is approximately half-funded by Horizon Europe, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, and industrial partners. The 15 public and private CLAIMS partners are: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (coordination; Germany), icometrix NV (project lead; Belgium), Aalto University (Finland), AB Science SA (France), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (USA), Casa Di Cura Igea SA (Italy), European Charcot Foundation (Belgium), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), Imcyse SA (Belgium), Nocturne GmbH (Germany), Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), Synapse Research Management Partners SL (Spain), Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), Université de Lille (France), Všeobecná Fakultní Nemocnice v Praze (Czech Republic). Prof. Dr. Friedemann Paul, coordinator of the initiative, is Director of the ECRC as well as Head of the Clinical Neuroimmunology Group at the Neuroscience Clinical Research Center (NCRC) at Charité. Grant Agreement No. 101112153.
About the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI)
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is a partnership between the European Union and European industry associations in the pharmaceutical, medical device, biotechnology, digital health and vaccine development sectors. It aims to translate health research and innovation into benefits for patients and society and to ensure that Europe remains a leader in interdisciplinary, sustainable and patient-centred health research.
Image: MRI image of the brain of a patient with multiple sclerosis. The nerve damage is visible as particularly bright areas. © Charité