Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease

Background

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Early assessment of CV disease in at-risk patients is important for the development or modification of therapeutic strategies and patient’s lifestyles. Current known diagnosis methods heavily rely on clinical history and physical examination by a physician. However CV diseases, especially in early stages, generally cause non-specific symptoms that can be easily missed.

Metformin is currently the most widely used glucose-lowering agent in the world. It has been used since 1957 to treat type 2 diabetes however, no reliable biomarker for metformin’s presence or dose has been identified thus far. This limits the ability to assess the effects of metformin in people with normal glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, at present, it takes months to determine the efficacy of metformin in the treatment of CV disease.

Technology Overview

Researchers at McMaster University in partnership with Sanofi have discovered novel biomarkers for the assessment of the risk for the development of CV disease. Combinations of up to 10 biomarkers were determined to be significantly linked to increased risk of CV disease with statistical significance.

Furthermore, they have also discovered a novel biomarker for the assessment of the treatment efficacy of metformin. Higher growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) protein concentration predicted a higher metformin dose in patient serum samples with statistical significance. An increased level of GDF15 is indicative of a response of the patient to metformin administration.

Further Details:

Identifying Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Events or Death in People With Dysglycemia. Circulation, 2015, 132 (24), 2297‑2304. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015744

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 as a Novel Biomarker for Metformin. Diabetes Care, 2017, 40 (2), 280–283. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc16-1682

Benefits

• The novel use of these specific biomarkers in combination with known clinical biomarkers can better aid in assessing risk
• Fast and less arduous than current assays that correspond with metformin’s dose

Applications

• Potential as a diagnostic tool for assessing the risk of development of a CV disorder
• Useful as a biomarker for metformin’s effect in mechanistic studies
• Suggests possible mechanisms for how metformin may reduce CV disease
• Aids in understanding the causes of CV disease

Opportunity

McMaster University and Sanofi are seeking partners for technology licensing opportunities and research collaboration.