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High-throughput functional analysis and clinical relevance of all possible variants of a gene

Award Number: R43HG012537
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/02/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2025

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High-throughput functional analysis and clinical relevance of all possible variants of a gene - Modern pharmaceuticals have greatly improved the quality of life for many patients suffering a variety of illnesses. Unfortunately, among the 17 most commonly prescribed drugs, only 6 are highly effective for most patients, 5 have a modest effect, and 6 show little clinical effect. Worse still, unwanted illness and death from treatment of patients with the incorrect drug or dosage causes over 275,000 unnecessary deaths annually in the United States, making it the 3rd-leading cause of death. Genomic screening can minimize the loss of lives by clearly defining the cause-and-effect between a patient’s genetic sequence and their disease. Many gene sequences are known to affect a person’s response to drugs. The FDA lists over 450 warnings or recommendations for drug use based on possible genetic variants in specific genes. Other public databases list ~60,000 “characterized” gene variants, but their importance is often unknown. Moreover, these variants represent a vanishingly small fraction of >900 million known human genetic variations. The vast number of “Variants of Uncertain Significance” (VUS) present potentially life-altering medical, ethical, legal, and societal complications. Some cause drugs to be more or less effective in different patients. Others can stimulate growth of cancer cells or make those cells resistant to chemotherapies. To understand the biological impact of gene variants, Heligenics has developed the GigaAssay™ technology to measure the functional effect of all variations within any selected gene. In contrast to similar technologies, the GigaAssay reports the activity of each variant of the gene, with high accuracy and reproducibility. In this proposal, we plan to improve the GigaAssay and show its feasibility for detection and analysis of gene variants that have clinical importance. In Aim 1 we will create a battery of GigaAssay cell lines and readouts for rapid analysis of several functional cellular activities. In Aim 2 we will demonstrate that the GigaAssay can detect gene variants that cause resistance to an FDA-approved chemotherapy drug. This work will directly address numerous goals of the “Illuminating the Druggable Genome” project of the NIH. Future plans include expanding the number of GigaAssays, increasing the speed or number of genes that can be studied, and partnering with drug developers and clinical trial managers to identify the optimal drug for each patient, based on his or her genetic variants.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	HELIGENICS, INC.	10530 DISCOVERY DR	LAS VEGAS	NV	89135	CLARK	USA	Human Genome Research	000	1	3/5/2025	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $398,526 )
2023	2023	HELIGENICS INC	833 LAS VEGAS BLVD N	LAS VEGAS	NV	89101	CLARK	USA	Human Genome Research	000	1	2/2/2023	NEW	$398,526
														Subtotal = $398,526

Grand Total All Awards = $398,526

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High-throughput functional analysis and clinical relevance of all possible variants of a gene

Award Number: R43HG012537

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 02/02/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2025

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