EKF in kidney biomarker licence agreement

EKF Diagnostics Holdings, a manufacturer of point of care in-vitro diagnostic devices, has signed an exclusive agreement with the Joslin Diabetes Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, to license certain novel kidney disease recognition technology.

The licence will provide EKF's wholly owned subsidiary, Argutus Medical, with exclusive rights to the Joslin's intellectual property surrounding two biomarkers, Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 1 and 2, that, when found elevated in the blood stream, can help identify patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes at increased risk of developing end stage renal disease up to ten years in advance.

EKF will work in partnership with the Joslin Diabetes Center to further validate the findings for the two markers and develop clinical diagnostic tests to accurately identify diabetes patients with an increased risk of developing end stage kidney disease.

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"We believe these biomarkers can be very useful predictors of early and late renal function decline in patients with diabetes," says Dr Krolewski, who led the development of the biomarkers. "Working closely with the team at EKF, we hope to translate our scientific findings to improve clinical care for patients who are at risk of kidney damage."

Julian Baines, the Chief Executive Officer of EKF Diagnostics, added: "We are really excited at the prospect of working with the world's most prestigious diabetes centre to deliver a genuine and tangible benefit to patient management. We have focused on the delivery of high quality diagnostic tools at EKF and this licence fits well with our existing development plans for point of care tests for acute kidney injury."

EKf's house broker, Canaccord Genuity said: "We expect further agreements to add in new tests/technologies to keep a diverse portfolio and enabling the company to maintain its growth rate."

The share price rose 3.45% to 30p by 14:34.

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