NEW YORK – Nijmegen, Netherlands-based Enzyre said on Thursday that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical to develop a diagnostic test that will enable hemophilia patients to determine their coagulation status at home.
Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will provide funding to Enzyre to tailor its technology to enable automatic determination of the coagulation status of hemophilic patients and transfer the test results to the patients' treating physicians through a mobile phone app.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Enzyre, a spinout from Radboud University Medical Center, said that its platform technology requires a small volume of blood and can measure up to 12 reactions simultaneously with high sensitivity and specificity without a laboratory infrastructure. The system consists of a blood sampling device, single-use microfluidic cartridge with reagents and controls, and a small reusable processor that enables reagent flow, processes test results, and transfers results immediately to the cloud, according to Enzyre's website.
In addition to financial support, Tokyo-based Takeda brings "a wealth of knowledge on the treatment of hemophilia," Enzyre's Chief Scientific Officer Waander van Heerde said in a statement.
Managing hemophilia, a rare genetic disorder, is a complex process, and many patients do so through home therapy, though often they see their core multidisciplinary healthcare team only once a year, Enzyre said. There is, therefore, an increasing need for patients to be able to monitor their condition more efficiently at home while staying connected with their care team, the firm added.