A €4 million four-year long study that aims to develop personalised treatments for people with haemophilia will be launched today.
Currently those who suffer from the inherited bleeding disorder, which stops the blood from clotting properly, are all treated with the same treatments.
But the researchers involved in The Irish Personalised Approach to the Treatment of Haemophilia (iPATH) intend to explore tailored remedies for individual patients.
The research will be carried out by scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, Science Foundation Ireland and pharmaceutical company Shire, as well as the Irish Haemophilia Society.
One in every 3,000 men in Ireland has the illness, which is caused by a faulty gene.
"Over the past 30 years, the principal focus of physicians engaged in caring for patients with haemophilia has been to ensure that our treatments are effective, safe and, in particular, free from viral contamination," said Professor O' Donnell, Director of the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI, and a Consultant Haematologist in the National Coagulation Centre in St James' Hospital, who will lead the study.
"In order to enhance quality of life for people with haemophilia in the future, we need to begin developing innovative treatment strategies that can be tailored specifically according to the needs of each individual patient."
"To achieve this objective, we first need to understand the biological mechanisms that underpin the marked differences in bleeding risks and long term complications that exist between individual patients with haemophilia."
"By explaining these mechanisms, the iPATH study will pave the way for the introduction of personalised medicine for patients with haemophilia."
The study is open to children and adults with moderate to severe haemophilia who wish to take part.
The announcement has been welcome by the Irish Haemophilia Society which said the results could be of global importance.
