$300,000 GE NFL Head Health Challenge Grant Will Fund Research Based On Johns Hopkins-Licensed Patents Connecting Protein Markers In Blood And Acute Brain Injury

RICHMOND, VA-BASED IMMUNARRAY AMONG 16 CHALLENGE I GRANTEES

Richmond, VA

ImmunArray, the Richmond, VA. and Rehovot, Israel-based developer of a breakthrough chip-based technology with the capacity to detect the presence of particular auto-antibodies in the blood, has been awarded a $300,000 grant as part of the first phase of the GE NFL Head Health Challenge.

ImmunArray was among 16 grant recipients selected from among more than 400 applicants from leading R&D companies and research universities throughout the country.

Through the grant, ImmunArray researchers will seek to confirm the possible connection between a certain pattern of antibodies associated with acute brain injury and ongoing immunological response to injury. In addition to determining the long-term effects of these acute injury biomarkers, the company’s research also will aid in the development of a simple, convenient, point-of-care blood-based test that can provide diagnostic results quickly and with certainty to those treating athletes or military personnel who have suffered brain injury.

“We are pleased and honored that the prestigious panel of experts assembled by GE and the NFL recognized the value of these markers and the promise of our iCHIP technology in selecting ImmunArray as one of the 16 awardees for this grant,” said D. Scott Batty, M.D., CEO of ImmunArray. “The utility of these protein biomarkers we have licensed from Drs. Jennifer Van Eyk and Allen D. Everett of Johns Hopkins University show a unique potential to serve as both standalone diagnostic biomarkers for a ‘Return to Play’ application and vital informative antigens for chronic monitoring and evaluation via our iCHIP platform. This approach will help shed light on the connection between acute traumatic injury and chronic immunologic injury in the spectrum of head trauma.”

ImmunArray’s patented iCHIPTM is a groundbreaking in-vitro auto-antibody detection technology. The company’s preliminary research holds the promise for early detection and diagnosis of blood-based biomarkers potentially released as a result of acute brain injury. The grant supports ongoing research at ImmunArray’s VERACISTM service and development laboratory, which resides on the campus of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“The field of proteomics is unlocking many of the mysteries of the brain, and ImmunArray’s collaborative research with us and our pioneering technology is shedding new light on the potential connection between acute injury biomarkers and chronic immunologic injury,” said Jennifer Van Eyk, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the division of Cardiology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the director of the Advanced Clinical Biosystems Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. “The post-translational modifications that we have patented, coupled with the iCHIP platform, enable us to not only discern more telling insights into the cause and effects of traumatic brain injury but also give us new practical diagnostic tools that hold the potential to transform how we treat and respond to such injuries.”

This grant supports the first year of study and can enable a second year of study with the subsequent award of an additional $500,000.