Boditech Med, SphingoTec Ink Commercialization Deal for Kidney Injury Test

NEW YORK – Point-of-care test developer Boditech Med and biomarker developer SphingoTec on Thursday said they entered a commercialization agreement for a point-of-care blood test to assess kidney function and acute kidney injury.

The agreement expands on a licensing deal announced last November under which Gangwon-do, South Korea-based Boditech is developing and manufacturing point-of-care tests that incorporate Hennigsdorf, Germany-based SphingoTec's kidney function biomarker proenkephalin A 119-159, or penKid. The commercialization agreement announced Thursday is for tests designed for use on Boditech's AFIAS instruments.

Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The firms said a blood-based test for penKid provides a faster and more accurate measure of kidney function than alternatives, including in vivo measurement of true glomerular filtration rate. Rising levels of the biomarker can also be used to deliver earlier predictions of acute kidney injury than other testing options. They said levels of the marker are independent of common comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes, and scientific evidence indicates penKid is useful in evaluating kidney function in adult and pediatric patients.

SphingoTec CEO Jörg Menten said in a statement that, under the agreement announced Thursday, the firms will provide robust support for commercialization of the penKid-based test, advance acute kidney injury diagnostics, and improve the management of critically ill patients.