More than 60 leading researchers, clinicians and patient representatives from Europe are gathered in Oslo. REMEDY at Diakonhjemmet Hospital is hosting the general assembly of the EU-funded project SQUEEZE. The project aims to make the treatment of arthritis and similar diseases more accurate and effective.
When hospital director Kari-Jussie Lønni
ng opened the event, she emphasized that European cooperation is key to more effective precision treatment for the individual patient.
– Our researchers are at the forefront of the paradigm shift in future medicine, said Lønning.
The center director for REMEDY, Professor Espen A. Haavardsholm, is central as the leader of one of the work packages in SQUEEZE .
– It is inspiring to bring together so many leading professional communities in Oslo, he says.
Effective treatment benefits patients and society
Each work package addresses its own issues while also aiming for synergies within the project.
“The core of the SQUEEZE collaboration is to use the medicines we already have in a smarter way,” he says.
“By developing strategies that improve the effectiveness of current treatments, while also targeting the right medicine and dose from the start, we can provide each patient with faster and better help. It can also save significant resources for society,” he says.
Personalized treatment
Senior researcher and rheumatologist Silje Watterdal Syversen at the REMEDY Center and Diakonhjemmet Hospital is leading the RA-DRUM study . It is one of the important studies in Squeeze.
Syversen and her team are investigating whether the dose of TNF inhibitors can be better adjusted using blood tests. The tests show how much of the drug is actually present in each patient's blood.
– The goal is for patients to receive the right medicine, in the right dose, at the right time. By adapting the treatment to the individual's response, it becomes more effective, explains Syversen.
REMEDY is participating in two other studies. MethMax is researching to get greater benefit from methotrexate, which is the first-line treatment for arthritis. BIO TEST is analyzing biopsies from joints to find biomarkers that can predict the effect of the treatment.
Strong European cooperation
SQUEEZE consists of 17 partners from universities, research institutions, patient organizations and businesses across Europe. From REMEDY, both Diakonhjemmet Hospital and Oslo University Hospital participate.
SQUEEZE Care Model
In addition to researching how current medications can be used more effectively, the researchers at SQUEEZE are developing a new way of organizing treatment and follow-up – the SQUEEZE Care Model.
The model is based on analyses of existing data and results from the SQUEEZE studies, combined with patient participation and precision medicine.
Norwegian researchers at the forefront
Syversen believes the event is one of the highlights of the year for the REMEDY center.
– The SQUEEZE collaboration shows how far we have come and how central Norwegian rheumatology research is internationally, says Syversen.
The researchers are working hard to ensure that SQUEEZE will contribute to more precise treatment of patients throughout Europe in the coming years.
