The collaboration will combine flow cytometry and proteomic analysis to help physicians identify specific inflammatory pathways in patients with chronic lung diseases.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Diagnostic Partnership: bioAffinity Technologies and Pictor have partnered to develop tests that analyze immune cells and cytokines to assess airway inflammation in asthma and COPD patients.
- Sputum Analysis Platform: The new tests will utilize bioAffinity’s noninvasive sputum analysis approach and Pictor’s proteomic platform to provide real-time biological insights into lung inflammation.
- Precision Medicine Approach: By identifying specific inflammatory pathways, the diagnostics aim to help physicians select targeted therapies and biologics for personalized treatment of respiratory conditions.
bioAffinity Technologies and Pictor, Inc have announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize diagnostic tests for patients with asthma and COPD. The partnership aims to provide a detailed view of lung inflammation by integrating flow cytometry with targeted proteomic analysis.
The agreement combines bioAffinity’s expertise in analyzing immune cell populations with Pictor’s platform for profiling cytokines, which are proteins that regulate immune responses and inflammation. The resulting tests are designed to analyze sputum samples to help physicians understand the biological processes driving airway inflammation.
“Pictor’s targeted proteomic platform has the ability to lower our operating costs compared with traditional single-analyte testing by improving laboratory efficiency and reducing testing complexity, all of which is required to serve a large and growing market like that of asthma and COPD,” said Maria Zannes, president and ceo of bioAffinity Technologies, in a news release.
The diagnostics build on bioAffinity’s existing scientific platform used for CyPath Lung, a noninvasive test for lung cancer. The companies anticipate that the new respiratory tests will initially be offered as Laboratory Developed Tests under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).
“Asthma and COPD are not single diseases. They encompass multiple inflammatory pathways that require different therapeutic approaches,” said Gordon Downie, chief medical officer of bioAffinity, in a news release. Downie noted that the diagnostics are designed to advance precision medicine by providing real-time data on the biology of airway inflammation.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asthma and COPD affect more than 40 million Americans and 650 million people worldwide. The global therapeutics market for these conditions was valued at $92 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $155 billion by 2030, according to the announcement. This growth is largely driven by the increased use of biologics and targeted treatments.
The high-throughput laboratory tests are intended to help physicians identify specific inflammatory pathways to inform decisions regarding advanced therapies, including Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biologics and emerging targeted treatments.
“By combining bioAffinity’s expertise in immune cell biology with Pictor’s scalable proteomic platform, we can advance bioAffinity’s ability to provide insights that move beyond simply identifying disease to understanding the underlying biology of each patient’s condition, leading to more effective treatments,” said Jamie Platt, ceo of Pictor.
