AGED Diagnostics
We are a team of geneticists and hepatologists who started our pursuits in 2018 when we realized the tools we were using in research were not being well translated into the clinic. We saw an opportunity to apply genomic innovation to improve the lives of patients. Our team is developing the most accurate blood test for liver disease (also known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH).
UNMET MEDICAL NEEDS
While 1 in 3 Americans or 100 million people have liver disease, many are unaware until the disease has progressed to later stages at which point patient outcomes are poor and healthcare spending can cost up to $1,000,000 per patient. Conversely, early detection of liver disease is not only treatable, but fully reversible.
The sole diagnostic tool is a liver biopsy, which is expensive, invasive, prone to sampling error and bleeding. Imaging tools fail in nearly 60% of patients and there are zero accurate noninvasive tools.
WHAT WE DO
AGED tools can differentiate benign from advanced liver disease and simultaneously stage fibrosis (liver scarring). Our technology uses a targeted genomic sequencing assessment to measure the concentration of target biomarkers (genetic signatures) in circulation. The presence of biomarkers past a defined concentration indicates a diagnosis of liver disease (NASH) and/or fibrosis.
Meet The Team
Rachel Zayas
Founder & CEO
Geneticist, MBA, Healthworx (CareFirst) Fellow, Halcyon Fellow
Dr. Justin Topp
Director of Scientific Innovation
Genomics Specialist Integrated DNA Technologies, Professor of Biotechnology
Dr. Bongsoo Park
Lead Bioinformaticist
Bioinformatics CRO, Researcher at NIH, Lecturer John Hopkins
Dr. Marius Bolni
Nagalo
Clinical Collaborator
Virologist and Professor of Medical Oncology at Mayo Clinic
Coleman Irving Smith, MD
Clinical Collaborator
Transplant Hepatologist, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital