AI and innovation: concrete progress in the pre-diagnosis of rare diseases

AI for the pre-diagnosis of rare diseases

Intended for general practitioners, city doctors and paediatricians, the AccelRare® tool aims to accelerate the pre-diagnosis of 270 rare diseases, with treatment or appropriate care. pre-existing tool MedVirTM developed by MIS, and the result of more than 30 years of medical research, AccelRare® will allow doctors to enter in the software the symptoms and clinical signs of the patient in an atypical situation. The algorithm developed jointly by the two companies will then identify if there is a significant risk of rare disease(s), and will provide if necessary the list of diseases associated with the symptoms described, information on these diseases as well as the contact details of the nearest certified expert centre.

Soon in test phase

The tool will be tested during the year 2022 with experts in rare diseases on the basis of real clinical cases and the list of 270 diseases benefiting from support. The objective is to adjust the degree of weighting and selectivity of the various symptoms entered to ensure that the tool provides the correct pre-diagnosis. AccelRare® will then be available on the web for healthcare professionals, first deployed in French and English, then in other languages ​​thereafter.

A public health issue

To date in France, the average time to diagnosis of rare diseases is 2 to 3 years, and 25% of the patients remain in diagnostic wandering between 5 and 15 years. Remember that a disease is said to be “rare” when it affects less than one person in 2,000.

In 2022, there are no less than 7,000 rare diseases identified in the world and 300 million people will be affected, including 3 million in France. A early detection of these diseases could allow patients better care.

Healthtech in great shape

2021 will have been a banner year for start-ups of Healthtech. Bringing together biotechs, manufacturers of medical devices, specialists in digital health as well as diagnostics, companies in the sector reached a record amount of funding.

According to the France HealthTech panorama drawn up by France Biotech and published on February 15, 2022*, French Healthtech companies raised in 2021: 2.3 billion euros, including 1.6 billion in venture capital. A figure up 50% compared to 2020. France also ranks second in Europe for the number of companies financed with 125 companies, behind the United Kingdom (177) but ahead of Germany (47).

Like the partnership that now unites Sanofi with MIS, BPI France launched the “French Care” program in early February. Inspired by its cousins, “La French Tech” & “La French Fab”, French Care has a clear objective of mobilizingecosystem health, both public and private. Breaking the “silo effect” that cements communications and ensuring that large groups, laboratories, start-ups, research institutes, universities communicate, collaborate and bring out the champions of tomorrow. “It is by decompartmentalising the different sectors that theenergy collective », specifies Nicolas Dufourq, director of BPI France.

Healthtech has a bright future ahead of it.

* Study carried out according to a panel of 427 Biotech companies, out of the 2,000 in France: https://fr.calameo.com/read/0065970524855fb02ae46