Published on: 2026-08-06
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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With the support of the NSU Startup Studio, a student of Novosibirsk State University Klim Karavaev entered the list of winners of the “Student Startup” competition with the project “Development of a multiplex PCR panel for pharmacogenetic assessment of antidepressant metabolism.” The development is aimed at addressing one of the key problems in modern psychiatry — the long and often ineffective selection of drug therapy for depression.
According to international organizations, depression remains one of the most common mental disorders. At the same time, treatment is complicated by a pronounced individual variability in response to antidepressants: the same drug can have different effects in different patients. In clinical practice, this leads to the need for sequential trial of medications, which increases the duration of therapy and reduces its predictability.
A student project proposes to create a personalized medicine tool that will take into account the patient’s genetic characteristics even before prescribing treatment.
— The essence of the startup is the development of a diagnostic panel to identify genetic markers associated with antidepressant metabolism, — explained Klim Karavaev, a master’s student at the Advanced Engineering School of NSU in the field “Advanced Engineering Solutions for Biotechnology and Medicine.”
The technological basis of the solution will be real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). As part of the project, a set of genetic markers — point mutations in genes affecting drug metabolism — is being formed. Based on this set, it is planned to create a diagnostic panel that laboratories will be able to use for analyzing patients’ DNA.
Unlike a number of existing solutions, where the analysis is limited to one or two markers, the development involves a multiplex approach.
— We plan to create a panel of 10–20 markers to provide more information to the doctor when choosing the first medication., — noted Klima Karavaev.
According to him, increasing the number of analyzed genetic variants should improve the accuracy of interpretation and make the recommendations more reliable.
The project is based on the already accumulated body of data in global science on the pharmacogenetics of antidepressants. A significant part of the research in this field has been conducted by foreign, primarily American, scientific groups, where antidepressant therapy began to develop actively earlier. This scientific groundwork allows for transitioning from fundamental data to applied diagnostic solutions.
At the same time, part of the work on selecting and analyzing markers has already been carried out within the framework of cooperation with the company MyGenetics from Akademgorodok, specializing in genetic tests.
— We have certain selected points, and right now it is important to understand how feasible it is to develop test systems for them, — clarified the developer.
According to him, not all genetic loci are equally suitable for creating stable and reproducible reagents, which requires additional validation.
Cooperation with an industrial partner also allows the use of existing laboratory infrastructure and accelerates the conduct of research.
— Collaboration is important because it allows for faster completion of extensive analysis work and does not require the purchase of expensive equipment, — noted Klim Karavaev.
In the future, the company may use the acquired technology in its own products, although the terms of commercialization are still under discussion.
As part of a 12-month grant, the team will focus on developing technology and a prototype diagnostic panel. Subsequent stages will include certification issues and product market launch. It is expected that implementing such solutions will reduce therapy selection time, decrease the number of ineffective prescriptions, and lessen the burden on patients.
The project is supported by the Foundation for Assistance to Innovations within the framework of the “Student Startup” program of the “University Technology Entrepreneurship Platform” event of the federal project “Technologies.”
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