NEW YORK ─ Kantaro Biosciences and EKF Diagnostics have inked a two-year agreement to distribute and market two SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kits, Kantaro said on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the agreement, EKF will market and distribute Kantaro's quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kit, called COVID-SeroKlir, in Europe and have exclusive rights in the UK and Germany. Further, Cardiff, Wales-based EKF will market and distribute a second Kantaro quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test kit, COVID-SeroIndex, for the European research market on a non-exclusive basis.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
COVID-SeroKlir and COVID-SeroIndexare enzyme-linked immunoassays that detect IgG antibodies to two virus antigens ─ the full-length spike protein and its receptor-binding domain (RBD).
Kantaro, a joint venture between the New York-based Mount Sinai Health System and London-based RenalytixAI, and manufacturing partner Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne, said its quantitative antibody testing technology supports the assessment of immunity to COVID-19 and could provide an understanding of the effectiveness of vaccination programs.
On Monday, Kantaro announced it has received CE marking for its COVID-SeroKlir and COVID-SeroIndex test kits for detecting the presence and level of IgG antibodies, enabling their use in Europe and other regions that accept such designation.
Authorized clinical testing laboratories in Europe can use the tests without the need for proprietary equipment, Kantaro said.
"EKF's robust footprint in regions affected by COVID-19 will allow us to get quantitative testing to patients and doctors as quickly as possible to help them assess immunity decision-making at both the individual level and for population-wide policymaking," Sara Barrington, Kantaro's chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
The Kantaro quantitative antibody testing technology is based on research performed at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
In May, Bio-Techne and Kantaro announced a partnership to initiate further development, scaled manufacturing, and distribution of a Mount Sinai-developed serology testing kit for SARS-CoV-2.