TAmiRNA releases groundbreaking osteoporosis fracture risk study

Vienna, Austria: – Biotech innovator TAmiRNA has released a scientific study that presents the first comprehensive attempt to model the cost-effectiveness of alternative osteoporosis-related bone fracture risk assessment strategies among post-menopausal women in central Europe.

The study is published in the current issue of Bone journal (vol 108, pp 44-54).

Dr. Evelyn Walter, Director of Vienna’s Institute for Pharmaeconomic Research, is lead author of the study “Cost-utility analysis of fracture risk assessment using microRNAs compared with standard tools and no monitoring in the Austrian female Population”. Other members of the team were Dr. Hans Peter Dimai from the Endocrinology and Diabetology Division of the Internal Medicine Department of Medical University of Graz ad three TAmiRNA scientists: the company’s CEO, Dr. Matthias Hackl, Dr. Hanna Dellago and Dr. Johannes Grillari, of the Department of Biotechnology at University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna.

Consequences of osteoporosis

The aim of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of fracture risk screening, monitoring, and resulting treatment decisions for Austrian women using the TAmiRNA osteomiR™ test based on circulating microRNAs, as compared with Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), with the fracture risk assessment tool FRAX®, or with no screening/monitoring.

The team developed a cost-utility-model to simulate long-term consequences of osteoporosis for Austrian women from age 50 upwards. They used Markov-modelling techniques to calculate health state transitions of fracture incidence according to high, intermediate and low risk groups.

Probabilities were derived via systematic-literature-review; direct costs from published sources from the payer’s perspective. Results evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) for osteomiR™ against the comparators, quantified by gains or losses of fractures, life years (LYs), quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and direct costs.

miRNA assessment alternative

The study’s principal conclusion was that fracture risk assessment and monitoring using the osteomiR™ test was dominant over a DXA-strategy and constituted a cost-effective alternative to FRAX® or no-monitoring, respectively.

Other key points from the study were:

• osteomiR™ enables miRNA-based fracture risk assessment and monitoring
• osteomiR™ utilization can reduce fracture incidence in postmenopausal women
• Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses confirmed robustness of the model

Dr. Matthias Hackl commented: “We believe this study provides valuable data for biotech and pharma companies participating in clinical studies in osteoporosis and musculoskeletal disease, academic and clinical research groups, especially the principal finding that the osteomiR™ test can provide a cost-effective alternative to established risk assessment strategies based on DXA and FRAX.”

About TAmiRNA

Privately owned and headquartered in Vienna, TAmiRNA GmbH is a biotech company specialized in the identification and validation of non-coding RNAs as biomarkers for age-related diseases. The mission of TAmiRNA is to provide clinically useful biomarkers to improve and prolong patient stability, health and quality of life with increasing age.

TAmiRNA specializes in technologies for profiling levels of blood-circulating microRNAs and developing multi-parametric classification algorithms (“signatures”). TAmiRNA uses these technologies to develop minimal-invasive diagnostic tests for early diagnosis and prognosis of disease, or as companion diagnostic tests to support treatment decisions.

TAmiRNA’s pipeline includes developments in osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and cancer, which aim to provide ‘microRNA kit’ solutions that enable users to quantify the levels of specific microRNA combinations and platelet function in serum, plasma, urine or other biofluids. The company initially developed kits for bone disease (osteomiR) and cardiovascular disease (thrombomiR).

TAmiRNA also offers contract research services for companies in need of targeted biomarker development. Customers include biopharma companies with drug development programs in human and veterinary medicine, medtech companies and clinical research groups.

More information available at: www.tamirna.com