ARUP gets a license to HaptoGuard Diagnostic Test
HaptoGuard Ltd., a drug discovery and development company with a particular interest in diabetic vascular disease announced an agreement with ARUP Laboratories, a leading full-service clinical reference laboratory. Under the terms of the agreement, HaptoGuard has granted ARUP, non-exclusive rights to discriminate risk of cardiovascular disease among diabetics by using a laboratory-developed, PCR-based test for haptoglobin polymorphisms. ARUP agreed to provide up front fees, milestone payments and royalties on future testing.
“Haptoglobin polymorphism testing will guide diabetes management and serve as a critical determinant of healthcare resource utilization,” said Noah C. Berkowitz, MD-PhD, CEO of HaptoGuard Ltd. “ARUP’s decision to educate the medical community and provide it with tools to discriminate vascular risk creates demand for our therapeutics, and represents commercial validation of our drug discovery and development strategy.”
“Haptoglobin polymorphism testing represents the opportunity to promote cardiovascular risk assessment services to our clients and their patients in the hospital and independent laboratory communities,” said Ronald L. Weiss, M.D., Senior Vice President, ARUP “We anticipate a highly productive relationship with HaptoGuard that may spawn additional technologies and improvements in our ability to risk-assess patients with diabetes.
The haptoglobin polymorphism testing patents have been assigned to HaptoGuard Ltd by Dr. Andrew Levy and the Rappaport Institute of Haifa, Israel. Dr. Andrew Levy, the company founder and Associate Professor at the Technion and Member of the Rapport Institute has demonstrated that the test represents the single most important predictor of risk for vascular disease among diabetics. Diabetic patients with the “favorable” haptoglobin polymorphism are far less likely to develop vascular disease, to die within 30 days of experiencing a myocardial infarction, or to manifest restenosis after angioplasty, compared to their peers with “unfavorable” genotypes.
About ARUP Laboratories
ARUP Laboratories is a national full-service reference laboratory owned by the Department of Pathology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. ARUP is a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development, led by the efforts of the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, LLC. With revenue of greater than $150 million and more than 1,300 employees, ARUP offers over 2,000 tests and test combinations, ranging from routine cytology screens to highly esoteric molecular and genetic assays. ARUP’s clients include university teaching hospitals, multi-hospital groups, major commercial laboratories, group purchasing organizations, military and government facilities, major clinics, and major pharmaceutical firms. Additional information is available on ARUP’s Web site at www.aruplab.com
About HaptoGuard Ltd.
HaptoGuard Ltd. develops drugs to treat diabetic vascular disease and inflammation. The Company has an internal drug discovery program and in-licensing strategy that has allowed it to develop a portfolio of products for its targeted indications. Tests such as haptoglobin polymorphism testing allow the company to identify patients most likely to respond to its drugs.
Contact:
Noah Berkowitz
+972 (9) 745-5670
noah.berkowitz@haptoguard.com