NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Proove Biosciences today announced it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Dentistry to incorporate findings related to the genetics of pain perception into its diagnostic tests.
The agreement concerns the rights to commercialize research on how genetic regulation and genetic variation are related to pain sensitivity. Based on this research, predictions can be made for an individual's sensitivity to pain as well as their response to commonly prescribed pain medicines, the firm said in a statement.
Irvine, Calif.-based Proove and UNC have been working together to commercialize these findings while also attempting to patent the use of genetic polymorphisms in diagnostics for personalized medicine.
"Seminal research in the field of pain genetics at UNC has demonstrated the power of three key COMT gene haplotypes to predict an individual's sensitivity to pain and to predict the efficacy of commonly prescribed medications for relieving their pain," Proove Biosciences CEO Brian Meshkin said. "We are committed to incorporating important validated research findings like these into Proove's suite of personalized medicine products. We have already incorporated many of these results, in concert with our own proprietary findings, into Proove's Opioid Risk and Pain Perception tests."
Financial and other details of the agreement were not disclosed.