NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Proteomics International Laboratories announced today that it has signed an agreement to evaluate its PromarkerD test in clinical trials of Dimerix's investigational chronic kidney disease drug DMX-200.
PromarkerD uses a panel of blood-based protein biomarkers to both predict risk of developing kidney disease in diabetics and diagnose patients with diabetic kidney disease. DMX-200 is a combination of the anti-inflammatory agent propagermanium and the angiotensin II type I receptor blocker irbesartan, and was recently shown to be safe — with potential signs of efficacy — in a Phase IIa study.
Under the terms of the deal, the companies will use PromarkerD to monitor the response of healthy volunteers to DMX-200 in an Phase I study currently underway in Australia, as well as in upcoming Phase II trials. Dimerix has also been given an option to license PromarkerD for further use if the test is found to be an effective companion diagnostic for DMX-200. Preliminary data from the collaboration are expected next year.
Additional terms were not disclosed.
"Many [chronic kidney disease] patients are diagnosed too late and the existing treatments can have little to no effect," Dimerix CEO Kathy Harrison said in a statement. "Having a test which can predict disease progression will undoubtedly be beneficial to both controlling disease and treating it with new drugs like DMX-200."