The cardiovascular diagnostics start-up CardiNor AS has entered a collaboration with the UK antibody specialist Bioventix plc. Under the terms of the agreement Bioventix will develop and provide antibodies for CardiNor’s new Secretoneurin (SN) IVD test.
Aimed at the estimated USD 4 billion cardiovascular risk assessment market, the assay is intended for launch in early 2017. Under the terms of the agreement, Bioventix will take a 10% shareholding in CardiNor.
Secretoneurin is a neuropeptide that has been shown by researchers at Akershus University Hospital, University of Oslo and Akademiska in Uppsala Sweden to be an independent CVD risk marker linked to the myocyte calcium regulation. This led to recent editorial in JACC, the Journal of Clinical Cardiology, entitled: “Will secretoneurin be the next big thing in cardiovascular risk assessment?” assessing its potential to become provide a third key frontline assay alongside troponin and BNP for cardiovascular risk assessment,
“Secretoneurin has the potential to provide a far better tool for selecting patients for cardiac rhythm management, “says CardiNor CEO Dag Christiansen. “The current regime lacks the desired sensitivity and specificity for patient selection. It is known that 70% of patients with an (ICD) implantable cardioverter-defibrillator do not actually need the device. This in turn causes both unnecessary patient stress and device costs of USD 10 billion. By working with Bioventix utilising their antibody and ELISA expertise, to develop a simple blood-based Secretoneurin test, we believe we can dramatically change this situation and provide the missing link in CV risk assessment”.
