Clareo Biosciences unlocks potential of immune profiling

Clareo Biosciences unlocks potential of immune profiling

A new biomedical startup founded by two UofL researchers is poised to reset the foundation for the field of genetics. Clareo Biosciences is a Louisville-based company that serves laboratories and clinics worldwide to better understand disease pathologies, improve diagnoses and design more effective vaccines using DNA sequencing. Their pioneering approach to creating and applying immunogenomic profiles is uncovering elusive links between an individual’s genetic makeup and their body’s immune response. Current applications include identifying susceptibility to side effects in clinical trials and guiding donor matching for organ transplants. 

When the findings of their original research showed promise, Melissa Smith and Corey Watson, associate professors at the UofL School of Medicine, turned to LaunchIt, UofL’s National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps bootcamp, for help translating their ideas into action. The duo also received proof of concept funding from the NIH REACH Kentucky Network for Innovation & Commercialization (KYNETIC) program, providing the essential support needed to develop a prototype and build an end-to-end immune profiling product.

“Launching Clareo Biosciences would have been impossible without the support we received from the regional iCorps “Launch It” program and KYNETIC funding for prototype development. The Launch It team taught us how to transform a scientific idea into a commercially viable pipeline, and through that experience, we built and continue to expand our local network as we grow our operation. KYNETIC funding was equally as impactful, providing the essential support needed to build our end-to-end immune profiling product," said Smith. 

"Most critically, the relationships we’ve established with the UofL Office of Research and Innovation, through our participation in these two programs have been critical, as they believed in Clareo Biosciences before we did, and that team has pushed us to live up to our scientific and entrepreneurial potential.”

Each test Clareo conducts informs an ever-growing database that deepens the detail on their map of the immune system so that predictive models can more precisely match the right treatments for the right person, making health care as efficient and effective as possible.