Canadian molecular diagnostics shop Spartan Bioscience said today that it has inked an exclusive distribution agreement with Germany's Alere GmbH to distribute the Spartan RX CYP2C19 platform in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
This is Spartan's first distribution deal for RX CYP2C19, a PCR-based point-of-care platform that tests for the CYP2C19*2 mutation that impairs metabolization of the anti-coagulant Plavix. The distribution agreement comes on the heels of the platform receiving a CE Mark for in vitro diagnostic use (PCR Insider, 12/23/2010).
Alere GmbH, a Koln-based subsidiary of Waltham, Mass.-based Alere, will concentrate its efforts on reaching customers in surgery suites and catheterization labs at hospitals and medical centers, Spartan said.
In a statement, Dave Sieber, managing director of Alere GmbH, called the Spartan RX CYP2C19 "an excellent fit with our expertise in the cardiology market."
Spartan has also applied for regulatory approval for the RX CYP2C19 in the US and Canada, and is targeting the third quarter of this year to receive such approvals. Spartan launched the Spartan RX CYP2C19 platform in August (PCR Insider, 8/12/2010).