NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Miraculins has licensed from Mount Sinai Hospital the rights to commercialize a portfolio of biomarkers for use in developing diagnostic assays for early detection of preeclampsia, the Winnipeg, Canada-based firm said today.
The firm said that there is currently no reliable test to accurately predict preeclampsia, which can cause high blood pressure and the buildup of protein in the urine of pregnant women. Miraculins said that a biomarker-based test could be used as a general screen for all pregnant women, representing a market of 6.4 million women annually in the US alone.
Under terms of the deal, Miraculins will issue 310,000 chares of its common stock to Mount Sinai as an up-front payment. The firm’s shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, and in Wednesday afternoon trade were down 44 percent at Cdn$.05 per share.
Miraculins will make additional commercial and developmental milestone payments to Mount Sinai. An annual maintenance fee would also be payable, commencing on the third anniversary of the signing of this agreement. Miraculins also will make annual minimum and running royalties on sales after any tests are commercialized.
The partners will conduct some of the development activities jointly, while Miraculins is responsible for sales of the products.