Swelife project: Precision Medicine for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Lipum AB (publ) is collaborating with Linköping University and Karolinska Institute in a research project aimed to identify protein biomarkers that can predict disease progression and treatment response in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The project has been awarded SEK 2.5 million in funding from Swelife, as part of Sweden’s national initiative to promote precision medicine and improve care for people with chronic diseases.

The collaboration aims to develop a panel of protein biomarkers – including those associated with the inflammatory protein BSSL – that can enable earlier diagnosis and support personalized treatment of RA. This work is grounded in Lipum’s identification of BSSL as a novel target in inflammation and the ongoing development of the company’s drug candidate, SOL-116.

A key long-term goal is to identify biomarkers that can predict patient response to SOL-116 and lay the foundation for a companion diagnostic test. Such a test could enable more precise treatment, improve patient outcomes, and increase the likelihood of future regulatory approval.

Swelife is a strategic innovation program funded by the Swedish government through Vinnova, supporting collaboration between academia, healthcare, and industry to strengthen Sweden’s life science sector and public health.