NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Miraculins today said that it has entered into a research collaboration with Diagnostic Technologies Ltd., an Israel-based developer of diagnostic kits for pregnancy disorders.
The Winnipeg, Canada-based firm also said that it has inked a Cooperation and Project Funding Agreement with DTL and the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation to support development of biomarker-based diagnostic tests for preeclampsia risk.
Under the agreement, the parties will collaborate to develop and test the performance of combinations of biomarkers for preeclampsia risk. The project includes the collection of a large cohort of clinical samples from pregnant women throughout pregnancy, the development of reagents and assays for a number of markers from Miraculins preeclampsia suite, and the development of algorithms and software for combining the markers.
Miraculins said that it has now completed the requisites for receiving the first payment of C$156,000 (US$134,592) from its C$467,000 share of the grant funding. The total grant amount is payable in three equal tranches over a two-year period, said Miraculins.
"As our responsibilities under the project are largely aligned with our preeclampsia research program, we are pleased to be able to access additional non-dilutive capital to advance our lead research program," Miraculins President and CEO Christopher Moreau said in a statement. "The potential commercialization of a product through our collaboration with DTL could help us to achieve increased access to global markets and help improve outcomes for expectant mothers and their children throughout the world."