Collaboration to Develop Biomarkers for Kidney Injury

Biosite Incorporated (San Diego, CA, USA) and Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve (HUG, Geneva, Switzerland), a clinical research hospital in Europe, have entered into a collaboration for the identification and validation of novel, protein-based disease biomarkers for kidney injury.

Under the terms of the collaboration, HUG will identify and validate several biomarkers discovered in blood and tissue samples from kidney-injury patients. Biosite will have the rights to develop diagnostic tests using one or more of those biomarkers. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Dr. Solange Moll, Professor Denis Hochstrasser, and colleagues of the department of clinical pathology at HUG have discovered more than 10 proteins specific to kidney function that may yield biomarkers for certain renal conditions. The biomarkers could be used for the development of blood-based diagnostic products for diagnosing kidney injury.

"Kidney injury can occur as the result of chronic or acute conditions. In order to provide useful information to physicians the timing and the nature of the injury need to be identified,” said Gunars Valkirs, Ph.D., senior vice president, Biosite Discovery. "HUG is a leading proteomics center in Europe and this collaboration may further advance Biosite's efforts in developing a rapid diagnostic test for kidney injury.”

Kidney injury is frequently acquired in a hospital setting and is often due to decreased blood flow to the kidneys from major surgery or trauma, infection, dehydration, or adverse reactions to medications. Important risk factors for kidney injury include high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, advanced age, infection, and the presence of other failing organs. Mortality is approximately three times higher in patients with acute kidney injury than in those without, both in the intensive care unit and in the overall hospital patient.

Biosite Incorporated is a bio-medical company that commercializes proteomics discoveries for medical diagnosis. Biosite's Triage rapid diagnostics are used in approximately 50% of U.S. hospitals and in more than 50 international markets.



Related Links:
Biosite
HUG