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Technology enables fast and differential diagnosis of arthritis using body fluids

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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have unique autoantibody patterns

Researchers have developed a technology that enables the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis within 10 minutes using synovial fluid. 

According to some studies, over 50 per cent of the population aged 65 and older experience symptoms of osteoarthritis, while rheumatoid arthritis is known to be a serious chronic disease that affects approximately one in 100 people over the course of their lifetime.

Although osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis may appear similar, they differ in both their causes and treatments, making accurate differentiation at the early diagnosis stage critically important. Until now, diagnosis has relied on X-rays, MRI scans, and blood tests, which are time-consuming, costly, and limited in accuracy.

The human joints contain a fluid known as synovial fluid. The research team focused on the differences in the composition of metabolites – byproducts of chemical processes occurring within the body – present in this fluid. By analysing these metabolic differences, they developed a technology capable of distinguishing between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis within 10 minutes, as well as assessing the severity of rheumatoid arthritis.

The research team utilised Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) technology, a phenomenon in which the optical signals of molecules are amplified by several million times.

This technology amplifies signals from trace molecules present in synovial fluid and, through a combination of AI-based analysis and mathematical algorithms, detects minute substances responsible for arthritis.

In addition, the team developed a simple and rapid diagnostic method using a sensor composed of a sea urchin-shaped gold nanostructure formed on a paper surface with high moisture absorption, enabling efficient detection via body fluids.

In collaboration with Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Dr. Ho Sang Jung and his research team from the Advanced Bio and Healthcare Materials Research Division at the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), conducted tests using this technology on 120 patients.

The results showed that osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis could be diagnosed and distinguished with an accuracy of over 94 per cent. Furthermore, the technology achieved over 95 per ent accuracy in determining the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. These findings demonstrate that the technology not only significantly reduces the time and cost of arthritis diagnosis but also ensures a high level of diagnostic accuracy.

Dr. Ho Sang Jung, the lead researcher at KIMS, said: “If this technology is commercialised, it will not only aid in diagnosis but also be highly useful in monitoring treatment progress.

“We also plan to continue expanding our research to cover a wider range of diseases in the future.”

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Agetech World’s latest innovation & investment round-up

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We round up the latest ageing and longevity investment news.

Regenerative cellular medicine company Celularity Inc has secured a US$10m financing package to support its healthy-ageing innovations.

The NASDAQ-listed business which focuses on addressing age-related and degenerative diseases secured the financing from Philip Barach, co-founder and former president of US investment house DoubleLine Capital.

“This closing strengthens Celularity’s financial position and provides meaningful flexibility as we continue to analyse and prioritise our platform and pipeline,” said Dr Robert Hariri, chairman and chief executive officer of Celularity. 

Celularity develops and commercialises off-the-shelf, allogeneic cell therapies and advanced biomaterial products derived from the postpartum placenta.

Dr Hariri added, “In the new year, we intend to more fully articulate Celularity’s corporate strategy, including our plan to align our scientific capabilities with long-term opportunities in longevity and age-related disease. 

“Our objective is to reshape Celularity into a durable, disciplined organisation that can translate innovation into sustainable value for patients and shareholders.”

GlycanAge boost

UK innovators GlycanAge has raised EUR7.4m (US$8.7m) as it looks to bring its diagnostics technology into mainstream care.

The investment round, totalling US$10m, is led by Fifth Quarter Ventures with participation from Guinness Ventures, BrightCap Ventures, South Central Ventures, Impetus Capital, Vesna Deep Tech VC and Lightfield Equity.

Its existing backers, which include LaunchHub Ventures and Kadmos Capital, have delivered pro-rata support, too. In 2024, GlycanAge raised a US€3.9m seed round.

Glycans are complex sugars that coat cells and many proteins, helping control immunity and cell signalling.

GlycanAge technology reads these signals to estimate biological age and deliver timely warnings of disease development.

Prof Gordan Lauc, co-founder and chief scientific officer of GlycanAge, said: “Our goal is to make glycan testing part of standard preventive diagnostics, where everyone over the age of 30 can access it through their healthcare provider.” 

Chinese researchers say they have developed a new model capable of predicting the degree of ageing in individual human organs, allowing for a more precise assessment of how different organs age over time.

US$16.5m boost for biomarker start-up

The research team at Xi’an Jiaotong University said previous studies had largely focused either on general characteristics of overall ageing, which made it difficult to identify distinct genetic patterns and molecular pathways linked to the ageing of specific organs.

In the new study, the researchers identified 554 genes associated with a high risk of organ ageing, saying this allowed their model to lead to the early screening of high-risk groups, and identify causal links between organ ageing and chronic diseases, thereby supporting disease prevention efforts.

Glucose biomarker startup Liom has secured an additional US$16.5m for its Series A financing, bringing the round to US$48m, as it succeeded in shrinking its non-invasive, biomarker-monitoring platform to wearable size. 

The Swiss company is developing a glucose-monitoring wearable, capable of providing continuous metabolic insight – without requiring needles or user calibration – and is targeting a commercial launch in 2028.

The vast majority of glucose monitoring devices currently rely on microneedles inserted under the skin.

Bank secures longevity boost

Almost 40 per cent of respondents to Life Time’s annual report identify that longevity is the wellness trend most likely to define 2026.

Findings from Life Time’s annual health and wellness survey, indicate strength training, and longevity health habits, are key priorities for Americans in 2026.

“People are training more intentionally, to feel and perform better for longer – and pairing that with smarter recovery and objective health metrics,” said Danny King, director of recovery and performance at Life Time, one of America’s leading healthy lifestyle brands. 

The increasing longevity of its former employees has seen Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Limited enter into three new longevity insurance and reinsurance transactions, safeguarding a further £4.8bn of pension liabilities against the risk of unexpected increases in member life expectancy.

Vicky Paramour, trustee director and chair of the investment & funding committee, said: “We are pleased to have successfully completed these transactions, which further reduce the Schemes’ exposure to longevity risk and make the schemes more secure to the benefit of all members.”

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FDA clears automated brain fluid device

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an automated brain fluid device designed to help ease intensive care nursing shortages.

Seattle-based BrainSpace said its Intellidrop system integrates hardware and software to enable continuous brain pressure measurement and closed-loop, gravity-driven drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid that surrounds and cushions the brain and spinal cord.

The device is indicated to provide external drainage of cerebrospinal fluid and/or monitoring of cerebrospinal fluid drainage and intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull) for ventricular or lumbar use.

Caitlin Morse, BrainSpace chief executive and co-founder, said: “We’ve heard from hundreds of ICU nurses that automating external CSF clearance is going to be a huge relief for nurses and a better experience for patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Stroke, skull base tumour surgeries, neurodegenerative conditions like Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and more.

“That hope can now become a reality in hospitals around the US with Intellidrop FDA cleared.”

According to a Lancet study, one in three people globally will face neurological injury, illness or degeneration in their lifetime.

BrainSpace said the Intellidrop generates novel, multimodal, contextualised data that is key to training Physical AI models.

The company believes automating brain pressure management will make care more accessible and allow clinicians to introduce more personalised approaches.

BrainSpace was founded in 2021 and is a past winner of the Seattle Angel Conference and Flywheel Investment Conference, and a grand finalist in MedTech Innovator 2024.

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Insilico signs US$888m oncology deal with Servier

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Insilico has signed a multi-year US$888m oncology deal with Servier to use AI in discovering and developing cancer therapies.

The AI-driven drug discovery company will use its Pharma.AI platform to identify and advance potential drug candidates, while Servier will lead clinical validation, regulatory interactions and worldwide commercialisation.

Under the agreement, Insilico will be eligible to receive up to US$32m in upfront and near-term research and development payments, with Servier sharing R&D costs.

Christophe Thurieau, executive director of research at Servier, said: “This collaboration underscores Servier’s commitment to applying cutting-edge technologies to address unmet medical needs for the benefit of patients and reflects our confidence in Insilico’s internally developed and validated AI platform.”

Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and chief executive of Insilico Medicine, said: “I am excited to see the collaboration—it is yet another strong acknowledgement of our AI capabilities and R&D expertise.

“As we deepen the integration of generative AI into every stage of the pharma value chain, I believe the future of pharmaceutical superintelligence is never so close, where AI agents could actually make decisions and design experiments, driving a virtuous cycle of faster, smarter, and safer drug development.”

Insilico said it has nominated 20 preclinical candidates from 2021 to 2024, with an average timeline of 12 to 18 months per programme, compared with an industry average of 4.5 years for early-stage drug discovery.

The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 30 December 2025.

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