Proteomics International Laboratories Ltd Produced and Validated a Ground-breaking Predictive Test for the Diagnosis of Diabetic Kidney disease (DKD)

PERTH, Australia, June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Highlights

• Proteomics International Laboratories has developed the world's first proteomics-derived predictive (prognostic) test for the diagnosis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD).
• PIQ's test is a global breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of DKD - there is currently no available test for predicting the onset of the disease.
• Diabetes is the world's fastest growing health issue and the largest cause of kidney disease -- 382 million people currently have diabetes worldwide and 35% of adults in the USA with diabetes have chronic kidney disease, highlighting the massive potential market.
• The ability to accurately predict the onset of DKD via a simple blood test and then provide appropriate treatment to prevent the onset of the disease has the potential to save health care systems globally billions of dollars.
• PIQ is attending BIO 2015, the world's largest biotechnology conference in Philadelphia, USA, this month for discussions with major pharmaceutical companies, and is in ongoing discussions with global industry players for partnering and licensing opportunities to commercialise the test.

Market potential

The commercial benefits, medical benefits and cost savings in commercialising the test are enormous. In Australia alone, the total cost to the health system and in productivity loss from diabetes is estimated at AUD$10.3b annually. The potential for pharmaceutical companies to market test to identify at-risk patient groups and then provide drugs to treat those patients may provide PIQ with substantial returns from licensing fees and royalties. The test may be commercialised simply using today's standard pathology laboratory assay systems. The global market for diagnostic kits is substantial; in the US the pathology lab industry is composed of 23,803 businesses with total annual revenue of US$55b.

Background

The test was developed using PIQ's world-leading proprietary proteomics platform to measure specific biomarkers (biological signatures) in the blood of patients with diabetes to determine the likelihood of those patients contracting DKD. Via its mass spectrometry-based proteomics technology, PIQ has developed a deeper understanding of DKD beyond classical pathology, by comparing the differences in the protein makeup of people with and without the disease

Study Results

The test was developed in a AUD$2 million clinical study of 576 patients with diabetes, from 2010 - 2014 in Western Australia. The results show it can predict:

• Which patients with diabetes will progress to have a significant decline in kidney function better than any other current known measure; and
• Which people with apparently healthy kidney function as measured by conventional tests are at risk of kidney problems.

Specifically, the clinical study found that 10% of the patients had a significant and rapid decline in kidney function over the four year study period and that the test correctly predicted 67% of these individuals.

www.proteomicsinternational.com