NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Metabolon and Bostwick Laboratories today announced an exclusive marketing agreement covering Metabolon's Prostarix test for stratifying prostate cancer risk.
Under the agreement, Bostwick — a full-service laboratory specializing in uropathology, particularly the diagnosis of urological cancers — will market Prostarix for the initial determination of which men may be candidates for prostate biopsy, as well as the determination of which men who have had prior negative biopsies may need repeat biopsies.
The test will be run out of Metabolon's CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited lab using mass spectrometry-based technology. The deal, Metabolon and Bostwick said, provides Metabolon access to one of the country's largest urology networks.
Prostarix is based on biomarkers found in urine, including sarcosine, which was linked in a study to prostate cancer. Metabolon identified sarcosine and other biomarkers that, when quantified, can differentiate patients likely to have a positive biopsy for prostate cancer from those less likely to have cancer found in a biopsy.
In clinical trials, the test demonstrated increased sensitivity and specificity compared to PSA testing, and provided information about metabolic abnormalities associated with prostate malignancy. As a result, physicians using it would be able to better manage the disease, especially in patients with negative digital rectal exams or modestly elevated PSA levels, the companies said.
"The Prostarix test is an important new test that will aid in determining whether to undertake prostate biopsy when the clinical evaluation is equivocal," David Bostwick, chief medical officer and founder of Bostwick, said in a statement. "We continue to search for new technologies that exceed our high threshold for clinical utility, and find this novel test from Metabolon to be such a significant advance."
The companies did not disclose financial or other terms of the deal.