NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Proteome Sciences said today that it has signed a non-exclusive license with Randox Laboratories for use of its stroke protein biomarker portfolio.
Randox will use the markers in products for early diagnosis of stroke and subsequent patient monitoring. The agreement provides Proteome Sciences with "seven-digit (US dollar) license and development milestones" as well as double-digit royalties on sales, the London, UK-based company said in a statement.
Discovery and clinical validation of the markers was done in the lab of Jean-Charles Sanchez, director of the University of Geneva Biomedical Proteomics Research Group, with which Proteome Sciences has an ongoing collaboration in the area of stroke.
Their research has identified a panel of five blood proteins that can identify patients who have had strokes with 90 percent accuracy, allowing diagnosis within minutes of the onset of symptoms, the company said.
The markers could also potentially enable physicians to quickly distinguish between hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke patients, the company added. This is key to identifying patients who could benefit from thrombolytic treatment.
According to Sanchez, use of the marker panel could significantly increase the number of stroke patients receiving treatment.
"The discovery and validation of a panel of early stroke biomarkers in blood opens the way for rapid detection and selection of treatment that will have profound benefits for patients, their families, and carers," Sanchez said in a statement. "We have recently studied the potential impact of using just one of these markers, GST-Pi, and found it could increase the number of treated stroke patients five-fold."