PrecisionLife and Sano Genetics Combine Forces to Understand Long COVID

PrecisionLife announced on May 11 that it has partnered with Sano Genetics to analyze data from 3,000 patients in the United Kingdom suffering from long COVID symptoms. Sano will provide the anonymously gathered DNA data and reported outcome data, while PrecisionLife will use its AI and combinatorial analysis platforms to investigate the data. 

The Need to Understand Long COVID

The CDC reported that long COVID, or post-COVID conditions, can come in various shapes and forms, making it difficult for medical professionals to diagnose and treat. The range of long COVID symptoms is incredibly broad, including respiratory and heart, neurological, digestive, and general symptoms like tiredness and fever.  

Over 500 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and a growing number of people are reporting symptoms of long COVID. The CDC also stated that 13.3% of people diagnosed with COVID reported long COVID symptoms one month after being infected and 2.5% at three months or longer. Additionally, 30% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 initially reported long COVID symptoms after recovering from the disease.

A 2022 study found that patients with mild acute COVID-19 showed poorer long-term health status, poorer quality of life, and psychological distress. The study surveyed 436 patients 6-11 months after the initial diagnosis of COVID-19.

Though the reasons long COVID affects some people more than others are unknown, the CDC has listed some correlations between those diagnosed with COVID and those who reported long COVID symptoms. Long COVID conditions are most prevalent in patients who suffered severe COVID-19 illness, but even patients who initially experienced mild symptoms from COVID-19 have reported long COVID symptoms. Additionally, unvaccinated patients diagnosed with COVID-19 may be more susceptible to developing long COVID conditions in the future. 

There is no single test to diagnose long COVID because the symptoms are so broad. Long COVID conditions may last as short as a few days or as long as months or years. So much is still unknown about the lasting impacts of COVID-19. 

Related Article: Scientists Jointly Urge FDA to Evaluate T-Cell Response in Review of COVID-19 Vaccines

Sano and PrecisionLife’s Quest to Understand Long COVID

Both Sano Genetics and PrecisionLife are based in the United Kingdom. Their partnership to study long COVID will use data sourced from 3,000 UK patients who reported long COVID symptoms to represent the approximately 1.7 million UK residents who have reported long COVID symptoms so far. 

Sano’s data was originally sourced in its 2021 support from Innovate UK, the United Kingdom’s innovation agency supporting business development and research. Innovate UK awarded Sano £133,000 to distribute free DNA testing kits for long COVID patients to use in their homes. PrecisionLife stated in its press release that participants from the dataset have complete control over their data and have the option to pick and choose which programs they would like their data to be a part of. 

Alongside Sano’s dataset, PrecisionLife will use its combinatorial analytics platform to identify the drivers behind long COVID. PrecisionLife hopes to use this information to understand why some people are developing long COVID and potentially even discover novel drug targets that could lead to new treatments to help patients with long COVID. 

Long COVID is a mysterious puzzle presenting growing problems around the world. PrecisionLife and Sano Genetics partnership is setting the foundation to look for the missing pieces through a comprehensive dataset and rigorous analysis. 

Author

Reed Slater