Keryx to Acquire AusAm's Albumin Test

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (New York, NY, USA) has agreed to acquire an albumin assay called Accumin from the developer, AusAm Biotechnologies (Santa Monica, CA, USA), for around 200,000 shares of Keryx common stock and a capped royalty arrangement.

Microalbuminuria is a condition in patients with kidney disease that is characterized by abnormal levels of albumin in urine. Accumin is a highly sensitive assay for the direct measurement and quantitation of total intact urinary albumin, with the potential to identify microalbuminuria in patients that might be missed with conventional tests.

In patients with diabetes, the earliest clinical evidence of diabetic nephropathy, or diabetic kidney disease, is the appearance of microalbuminuria. Currents tests measure only a portion of intact albumin that reacts with conventional antibodies, while considerable amounts of intact albumin fail to be detected. This results in a high rate of false-negatives. The assay has been cleared for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is commercially available in the United States and Europe through reference laboratories, distributors, and hospitals.

According to Dick de Zeeuw, M.D., professor and head of the department of clinical pharmacology at the University Center of Groningen (Groningen, The Netherlands), "The level of albumin in urine is directly correlated with the risk of progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Additionally, albuminuria is widely acknowledged as an independent predictor of diabetes, stroke, myocardial infarction, kidney failure, and death. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients with microalbuminuria is recognized as the key to preventing diabetic nephropathy.”

Keryx is currently focused on developing novel therapeutics for patients with kidney disease, including those with microalbuminuria.


Related Links:
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals
AusAm Biotechnology