The new initiative pairs Decode Health's AI-driven MS biomarker program with Circular Genomics' circular RNA platform to support earlier detection and monitoring of multiple sclerosis. The effort unites two teams with strong, complementary capabilities in RNA-driven precision medicine.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., and SAN DIEGO, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Decode Health, a precision medicine R&D company, and Circular Genomics, Inc., a leader in circular RNA-based precision medicine for neurology, today announced a research initiative focused on circular RNAs (circRNAs) in multiple sclerosis (MS).
The effort unites two teams with strong, complementary capabilities in RNA-driven precision medicine. Decode Health contributes an NIH-funded MS biomarker program, more than a decade of research across coding and non-coding RNA biology, and a cloud-native AI platform built to accelerate biomarker discovery at scale.
Circular Genomics brings scientific leadership in circRNA biology and a proven assay development engine. Together, the teams will evaluate and prioritize circRNA signals relevant to MS, and translate them into clinically meaningful readouts to support earlier MS detection and, over time, inform disease monitoring and treatment decisions.
Decode Health's MS program is anchored by a $1.9 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the NIH to advance a blood-based, AI-driven readout of MS disease biology in collaboration with Broad Clinical Labs, the Accelerated Cure Project for MS, and leading academic partners. The company's broader biomarker discovery work spans autoimmune, neuroinflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases, with peer-reviewed research and proprietary datasets that partners have advanced into commercial products.
Circular Genomics' proprietary circRNA platform has produced clinically validated signatures for the early detection and risk of disease progression in Alzheimer's disease, as well as the prediction of treatment response to SSRI antidepressants in major depressive disorder. The company recently closed a $15 million Series A financing round and secured exclusive IP licenses from Washington University in St. Louis and the Max Delbrück Center for use of their platform in Alzheimer's disease.
"Our team has spent more than a decade building the data, the platform, and the scientific track record to tackle diseases like MS at the molecular level," said Chase Spurlock, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Decode Health. "Circular RNAs are an especially compelling next step in that work because of their stability and the depth of the biological signal they carry. This collaboration pairs what we've built with Circular Genomics' circRNA expertise to do something that would otherwise take far longer: build a more scalable, molecularly grounded way to read MS biology directly from blood, so care teams and therapy developers can make better, faster decisions."
"MS presents a significant diagnostic challenge, particularly in distinguishing disease subtypes and identifying early signs of progression," said Nikolaos Mellios, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Circular Genomics. "Circular RNAs offer a unique molecular lens into that biology. By combining our circRNA platform with Decode Health's AI-driven analytics and extensive MS research, we have the opportunity to develop specific circRNA signatures that support earlier detection and provide new insight into how the disease evolves over time."
About Decode Health
Decode Health is a precision medicine R&D company based in Nashville, TN. The company's platform removes bottlenecks by combining automated multiomics and clinical analytics with proprietary patient data and deep scientific expertise to de-risk and accelerate biomarker discovery and clinical decision support for pharma, diagnostics, and health technology partners, producing commercially structured findings in weeks rather than months. For more information, visit www.DecodeHealth.ai.
About Circular Genomics
Circular Genomics is a molecular diagnostics company focused on developing next-generation blood-based tests using circular RNA biomarkers. The company's mission is to enable earlier detection, better disease characterization, and more precise care for patients with neurological and psychiatric conditions. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.circulargenomics.com.
Media Contact
Michele Hart-Henry, Decode Health, 1 855-899-9551, [email protected], decodehealth.ai
Nhu Nguyen, Circular Genomics, 1 505-542-4060 119, [email protected], circulargenomics.com
SOURCE Decode Health
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