Dublin, Ireland (10th November 2008) Argutus Medical Ltd., the Biomarker spin-out of Biotrin International Ltd., is pleased to announce a strategic arrangement to multiplex its unique rat Acute Kidney Injury Test (AKI TEST®) with Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC. (Gaithersburg, MD). The agreement will see Argutus’ Rat AKI TEST® being made available on MSD’s MULTI-ARRAY® technology platform. MSD’s proprietary MULTI-ARRAY® technology platform will allow the individual components of the AKI TEST® to be tested simultaneously, thereby reducing the volume of urine required and allowing for true high-throughput screening in preclinical toxicity analysis.
The Rat AKI TEST® will incorporate Argutus’ three rat kidney injury biomarkers, Alpha Glutathione –S-Transferase (GST), a proximal tubule injury marker, GST Yb1, a distal tubule injury marker, and RPA-1, a marker of collecting duct injury, in a single MULTI-SPOT®Assay. These three biomarkers have been widely studied by the International Life Sciences Institute Health and Environmental Sciences Institute Committee on the Application of Biomarkers of Toxicity, Nephrotoxicity Working Group. Results of this collaborative study between multiple pharmaceutical companies, academia and government scientists have been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and Japan Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) as part of the C-PATH biomarker qualification initiative.
Dr Cormac Kilty, Chairman of Argutus, “We have invested considerable time and resources into developing and validating our rat biomarker tests and are delighted to enter into this agreement with MSD®. MSD® offers a robust multiplex test system that we believe is the best platform for our biomarkers. We are confident that working together Argutus and MSD® will see the Rat AKI TEST® becoming a major tool in the early detection of kidney injury in pre-clinical drug development.”
Mr Joe Keenan, Head of Sales and Marketing at Argutus said, “Availability of our rat markers on a multiplexed platform will lead to widespread uptake and adoption of these biomarkers in pre-clinical studies. Our customers have been eagerly awaiting the launch of a user-friendly multiplexed approach to pre-clinical nephrotoxicity assessment. We are very happy to be offering them our Rat AKI TEST® on MSD’s platform.”
The Argutus’ Rat AKI TEST® MULTI-SPOT®Assay may be purchased directly from MSD.
For further information please contact: Vicky McGrath, Head of Business Development – vicky.mcgrath@argutusmed.com