SomaLogic’s SomaScan® Assay used in largest proteomic study to date, bridging the gap between genomics and disease

BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a new study published in Nature Genetics, scientists at deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, used SomaLogic’s (NASDAQ: SLGC) SomaScan Assay to measure blood proteins in 35,559 Icelanders and mapped them to 27 million genetic sequence variants. Using this vast amount of proteomic data, these researchers hope to demonstrate that combining protein measurements at population scale with genetic data on disease will dramatically impact understanding of human diseases and potential drug targets. This new study was the largest proteomic study published to date with 170 million protein measurements.

Less than 10% of human disease is driven by genetics. Plasma proteomics, the study of blood proteins, can help bridge the gap between genomics and disease discovery. This paper found that linking genes to proteins, and then to diseases can show patterns between the factors that cause a disease and the factors that are a consequence of a disease. This process may give a roadmap of how diseases develop and offer potential drug targets.

In this study, the plasma levels of 4,719 blood proteins were tested for genetic associations with 373 diseases and traits, producing 257,490 of these associations. SomaLogic’s SomaScan Assay was used to find genetic variant-protein target associations, called protein quantitative trail loci or pQTLs. In the study, 94% of the proteins measured using the SomaScan Assay showed an associated pQTL, resulting in more than 18,000 pQTLs. Ninety-three percent of these pQTLs are considered novel. The study also identified 938 genes encoding as potential protein drug targets for various diseases.

“Our SomaScan Assay offers the ability to measure and identify the largest percentage of the human proteome at commercial scale on the market today and it proved to be exquisitely specific in this study,” said SomaLogic Chief Executive Officer Roy Smythe, M.D. “We hope that this study, and more like it, will help to provide the vital information that can be added to genetic data to create a more comprehensive understanding of human biology, and increasingly power more effective treatments for human disease.”

About SomaLogic
SomaLogic (Nasdaq: SLGC) seeks to deliver precise, meaningful, and actionable health-management information that empowers individuals worldwide to continuously optimize their personal health and wellness throughout their lives. This essential information, to be provided through a global network of partners and users, is derived from SomaLogic’s personalized measurement of important changes in an individual’s proteins over time. For more information, visit www.somalogic.com and follow @somalogic on Twitter.

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