NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Glyconics announced today it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Swansea University for the use of infrared spectroscopy for the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The technology developed at the university's College of Medicine uses non-invasive IR spectroscopy to easily and rapidly analyze patient sputum samples for proteins, nucleic acids, and other biomarkers that are characteristic of COPD.
The Cardiff, UK-based firm said in a statement that it is planning to use this technology to develop a portable, laboratory-based diagnostic test for early detection of COPD.
Financial details were not disclosed, however, the firm said that future payments will be based around royalties and commercial milestones.
"With this license secured, we can move ahead to launch our technology into areas of unmet clinical need where there is very little genuine competition," said Glyconics CEO Berwyn Clarke. "Given the global significance of COPD as a major clinical problem we will be looking to rapidly identify commercial partners who can assist in the deployment of our devices into the major global markets. Importantly we are also continuing to work very closely with Swansea University to build a development pipeline around other signatures for other diseases."