NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Mitochondrial DNA diagnostic test firm Mitomics today announced that QDx Pathology Services will develop, market, and process the QPredict Prostate Mitomic Test.
The test will be based on Mitomics' Prostate Core Mitomic Test, which Mitomics launched in March. Under the non-exclusive agreement, QDx Pathology will leverage its network of pathologists, urologists, and processing centers to expand the availability of the technology in the US.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Prostate Core Mitomic Test uses mitochondrial DNA to detect the presence or absence of cancerous cells by using previously obtained prostate biopsy tissue and "its cancerization field effect" to detect molecular changes and missed tumors. According to a study published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases in January 2010, the PCR-based test achieved sensitivity of 84 percent and a negative predictive value of 91 percent.
"We believe the Mitomic Technology is an important piece of the puzzle in detecting prostate cancer in patients with initial negative biopsies," M.N. Qureshi, president and medical director of QDx Pathology, said in a statement. "We believe that facilitating the early detection of low volume prostate cancer, should, in turn, lead to more definitive treatment."
Based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Mitomics transitioned from an R&D shop to a commercial entity last year. QDx is a national, full-service clinical and anatomic pathology laboratory and is based in Cranford, NJ.