New research project to improve care for viral infections
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet are part of a research project that has recently been awarded a grant from the EU's Innovative Research Programme. The project aims to develop methods to facilitate the identification of patients in need of treatment and the choice of treatment for viral infections.
The project is part of a collaboration between researchers at Karolinska Institutet and researchers in Germany, Italy and the UK that has been ongoing for over 20 years. There are also important project partners in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, as well as through representatives of patient organisations in liver disease and HIV infections.
Improving management of chronic infections
At Karolinska Institutet, the project is led by Professor Anders Sönnerborg at the Department of Medicine in Huddinge.
“The aim of the project is to identify, develop and evaluate methods for measuring biomarkers in blood to improve the management of patients with chronic infections prior to treatment with antiviral therapy and in the prognosis of disease progression in patients with impaired immune systems,” says Anders Sönnerborg.
Biomarker development and industry technology assessment
The project has two main strategies. One involves researchers at universities identifying and developing biomarkers, which industry will then monetise into products. The biomarkers will be evaluated for their value to healthcare. The second strategy involves researchers evaluating technologies developed by the industry.
Facilitating the evaluation of patients with HIV
In addition to Professor Sönnerborg, KI researchers post-doc Maarten van de Klundert and post-doc Federica Giammarino are participating in the project with laboratory experimental efforts, and Associate Professor Piotr Nowak is participating as a clinical partner. They recognise that the results of the project will provide clear benefits for patients in the future.
One group that will benefit from the project is people living with HIV, as the project will help select the right long-acting medication and also facilitate the evaluation of whether a patient is cured or not.
“KI's focus is primarily on HIV, but we also contribute to the care of patients with hepatitis and other immunosuppressed patients, such as those who have undergone a transplant,” explains Anders Sönnerborg.
Developing a bioinformatics approach
The researchers at Karolinska Institutet will focus on HIV and extract gene sequences from the envelope of the virus from a large number of patients. These viruses will be evaluated for sensitivity to broad-acting neutralising antibodies.
“After that, our goal is to develop a bioinformatic method that can be used on a large scale to assess whether a patient's virus is sensitive to these broad-acting antibodies, which can be used in long-term treatment and in research on curing HIV,” says Anders Sönnerborg.
This technique is also hoped to be used for other infections, such as COVID and RSV.