NEW YORK ─ BHR Pharmaceuticals and SphingoTec on Tuesday announced that they have inked a distribution agreement for SphingoTec's portfolio of diagnostics products used in acute and critical care applications in the UK and Ireland.
The collaboration in particular focuses on the UK market introduction of Hennigsdorf, Germany-based SphingoTec's point-of-care tests for use of novel biomarkers in critical care, targeting diagnostically underserved conditions such as sepsis, acute heart failure, acute kidney injury, and recently severe COVID-19, the firms said.
Financial and other terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.
The products include tests for bio-ADM, penKid, and DPP3, allowing for the early diagnosis and monitoring of endothelial dysfunction, kidney dysfunction, and cardiac depression, respectively, the firms added.
The tests are available on SphingoTec's Nexus IB10 fully automated rapid immunoassay point-of-care instrument, which provides test results within 20 minutes and can be deployed in laboratories, emergency departments, intensive care units, and doctors' offices.
Bharat Vadukul, director of Warwickshire, UK-based BHR, said in a statement that the Nexus IB10 system "further strengthens the strategic fit with our existing product portfolio." With the system, BHR's package of point-of-care testing devices will "enhance the ability of specialists in the renal and cardiology sectors to better manage their patients," he added.
To address specific challenges provided by COVID-19 in the UK, the companies are collaborating with Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital in London and King's College Hospital NHS Trust to further investigate the added value of SphingoTec's biomarkers in developing individualized management strategies for severely ill COVID-19 patients.