Perth-based medical technology company Proteomics International Laboratories (ASX:PIQ) reports it has extended the term of its letter of intent (LOI) with Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) subsidiary Sonic Healthcare USA until 31 January.
The company says the binding and exclusive LOI initially signed in August last year, provides for entering into an Exclusive Licence Agreement for the use of its PromarkerD predictive test for diabetic kidney disease. It further states this 1 month extension will provide both parties the necessary time to finalise the agreement.
Proteomics reports a number of key milestones have already been achieved under the LOI, and it also notes that the test has been optimised for a high-throughput environment. Furthermore, PromarkerD became a featured test on the Sonic Reference Laboratory test menu in October.
The company states a submission to the American Medical Association (AMA) was also made in October to secure a Proprietary Laboratory Analysis (PLA) reimbursement code for the PromarkerD test.
Following this, the submission was reviewed by the AMA Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel in November and a new dedicated code for PromarkerD was approved and published on 3 January.
In addition, Proteomics reports the parties have been working diligently to formalise milestone events and timelines in relation to the commercialisation process.
Proteomics International Laboratories is a wholly-owned subsidiary and trading name of PILL, a medical technology company focused on predictive diagnostics and bio-analytical services. The company states it specialises in proteomics which is the study of the structure and function of proteins.
PromarkerD is a prognostic test that can predict future kidney function decline in patients with type 2 diabetes and no existing diabetic kidney disease (DKD).
The test uses a simple blood test to detect a unique fingerprint of the early onset of DKD by measuring 3 serum proteins biomarkers combined with 3 routinely available conventional clinical variables. A cloud-based algorithm then integrates these results into a patient’s risk report.
According to clinical studies published in leading journals, Promarker D correctly predicted 86% of otherwise healthy diabetics who went on to develop DKD within 4 years.
