Background
Duplex Bioscience is dedicated to creating innovative biotech platforms that enhance precision medicine (with a particular focus on African populations, known to be genetically diverse compared to other human populations). Precision medicine involves the personalization of treatments and diagnostics based on patients’ specific needs mostly inferred using their genome, transcriptome and/or other biodata together with their clinical history. We have seen tremendous advancements in this field over the last three decades following the completion of the human genome project and the subsequent reduction in cost of sequencing a genome. We are particularly motivated by success stories such as the use of “Milasen” to treat a child with very rare genetic disease, a discovery largely driven by large genomic datasets, and advanced statistical methodologies.
With the improvements in AI/ML methods and tools, increasing sequence data due to reduced cost for sequencing whole genomes, precision medicine is set to advance personalized medicine in fields like cancer and infectious diseases. Duplex Bioscience seeks to take advantage of these advancements and lead initial efforts in Ghana with a focus on bacterial infectious diseases.
The Duplex Bio Thesis: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent global public health threat that begs the need for timely interventions. It is estimated that by 2050, if there are no drastic preventative measures, AMR can contribute to 10 million deaths annually (to put in perspective, at the peak of COVID-19 in 2021, there was an estimated 10 million COVID-19 related deaths that year). Currently, AMR is responsible for around 1.27 million deaths annually, which in itself is dire, and has driven a global concerted efforts to contain this threat. For instance, 2-3 decades old AMR surveillance data collected by several pharmaceutical companies are shared openly through global efforts such as Vivli to inspire solutions to the AMR problem.
Our solutions to the AMR problem
Duplex Bio’s approach to the AMR problem is very simple yet has the potential to radically enhance the fight against AMR. The three main research areas that we focus on to tackle AMR include: bacteria identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of isolated bacteria, and forecasting AMR incidence over time.
The first two tasks have been incorporated into our proprietary platform, microBIS. microBIS allows for a more streamlined and easy bacteria identification using a panel of biochemical tests (8-panel or 20-panel biochemical assays). The user can input results from these tests into our platform, and our ML models identify the specific bacterial species that matches the input results profile. The use of our platform eliminates potential human error that can occur during bacteria identification. Also, our platform enables users to screen bacterial isolates to different antibiotics to identify their resistance and susceptibility patterns (commonly referred to as AST). Through this approach, our platform enables rapid bacteria identification and AST screening with immediate benefits in clinical diagnostics and environmental monitoring of drug resistance. The surveillance of drug resistance forms a part of our research into using repositories of genomic, biochemical and other metadata to predict AMR incidence through time.
Current R &D projects
The quest to innovate in the AMR diagnosis and surveillance has informed our current research programmes, generously funded by various agencies who recognize the need for intensified efforts in combating AMR. One such project was the Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance genes in wastewater. This project was executed in collaboration with Diaxxo and Noguchi Memorial Institute and was funded by the Innovation Office-University of Basel. The primary goal of this study was to determine the distribution of Extended Spectrum Beta-lactamase (ESBL) Antimicrobial Resistance Genes (ARGs) in wastewater samples in Ghana. The utilization of wastewater samples underscores our conscious efforts to use the One-Health model in studying AMR, which has been expounded as a key means to fight AMR. You can read more about this project here.
Another research we are conducting on ARG surveillance in Ghana fully incorporates the One-Health model, where we are collecting various environmental samples and sequencing their metagenomes which can allow the identification of novel bacteria variants and their resistome. This project is being carried out in collaboration with scientists from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, with genomic sequencing supported by the South African Medical Research Council Genomics Centre.
Future projects and commitment to precision medicine and improved healthcare
Duplex Bio is highly motivated to contribute to improved healthcare outcomes in Ghana (and other parts of the African continent) by advancing precision medicine, with a current focus on bacterial infectious diseases. We are currently developing expertise in genomics, machine learning, micro-fluidics and other bioengineering approaches that will allow us to develop the needed biotechnologies to make personalized medicine routine in healthcare delivery systems in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa. We are open to collaborate with diagnostic and research laboratories in Ghana (and elsewhere), independent researchers and technology developers to achieve this vision.
