BARDA and Dascena partner to adapt software for predicting COVID-19 severity

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is partnering with Dascena, Inc. to expand the use of the company's algorithm-based software to empower clinicians to predict disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

This partnership will leverage Dascena’s experience in developing improved prediction tools to advance the development of their COViage™ system, which received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization (EUA) to predict unstable blood pressure as well as respiratory failure, which requires ventilation in COVID-19 patients. Further clinical and user evaluation of the tool in additional hospitals will aid Dascena in expanding its use and availability across the country.

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients are at heightened risk of rapid health deterioration and severe outcomes. However, few scoring systems are available to help healthcare professionals predict COVID-19 patient prognosis. Dascena’s next-generation precision medicine approach analyzes data from the patient’s electronic health record to provide healthcare professionals with timely warning of COVID-19 patients at heightened risk of experiencing unstable blood pressure or respiratory failure. The advance notice would give healthcare professionals an important additional tool to guide interventional decision making, such as mechanical ventilation.

Under this partnership, Dascena will advance the development of COViage through clinical validation of the technology to support a request for FDA 510(k) clearance of COViage and to conduct user assessments to aid in further expansion and implementation of the system at additional clinical sites. Dascena will complete a randomized controlled trial to prospectively assess the ability of the algorithm to predict respiratory decline. Dascena will further engage clinical care teams to assess utility of the COViage system and to demonstrate readiness for large-scale deployment.

Read more: https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/newsroom/2021/dascena/