sphingotec GmbH , a biotechnology company that develops biomarkers for the detection and management of diseases, has recently signed an agreement with Mayo Clinic to collaborate on the evaluation and use of several biomarkers that may improve the diagnosis of certain disease states, including kidney disease, breast cancer, sepsis, and cardiovascular disease.
As part of the agreement, Mayo Clinic will evaluate the biomarkers proenkephalin (penKid) and three others for research and potential routine clinical use. penKid is the only blood-based biomarker that provides timely information on the current status of kidney function; it signals worsening or improvement in kidney function better than established methods, particularly in critically ill patients.
Other biomarkers discovered at sphingotec labs that Mayo Clinic will evaluate include:
– proneurotensin (pro-NT) for the risk assessment of developing breast cancer in women.
– adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) for the prediction of shock in patients with sepsis.
– high-sensitivity growth hormone (vr-hGH) for the prediction of cardiovascular disease in men.
“With this collaboration, Mayo Clinic can serve as a U.S.-based testing center for any physician or scientist interested in evaluating these assays for their own research questions,” says Leslie Donato, Ph.D., clinical chemist and co-director of Cardiovascular Laboratory Medicine at Mayo in a statement. “We can run their samples on these analytically validated tests, and together, we can help determine the clinical utility for these biomarkers, ultimately better serving all of our patients.”
