Basque company Progenika has entered into an agreement with the Dutch biotechnology firm Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (AMT) to develop and commercialise the LPLchip, a diagnostic tool to rapidly diagnose patients with complete and partial lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), which might lead to illnesses like acute pancreatitis. The Progenika product is the only DNAchip in the world that enables identification of patients who might benefit from Glybera, a gene therapy developed by AMT for patients with this disease.

In June of this year, the Netherlands company announced new clinical data showing that a one-time administration of its lead product Glybera results in significant long-term health benefits for LPLD patients. These data show that the therapy results in a significant and clinically important reduction in acute pancreatitis. The data also confirm that the therapy is well-tolerated and safe. AMT intends to file Glybera for marketing approval with EMEA by the end of this year, adding it to the few approved drugs accompanied by a diagnostic test of this kind, all of which are in the USA.

AMT has selected Progenika as a partner for the development of LPLchip because of the Basque company’s long-standing expertise in the development of diagnostic chips and its access to both European and North American markets: Progenika is a pioneering company in the emerging field of personalised medicine, dedicated to the design, development and manufacture of novel DNA genotyping microarrays for the diagnosis, prognosis and drug-response prediction of complex human diseases.

On its part, AMT has a unique gene therapy platform that to date appears to circumvent many if not all of the obstacles that have prevented gene therapy from becoming a mainstay of clinical medicine. Using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors as the delivery vehicle of choice for therapeutic genes, the company has been able to design and validate what is probably the first stable and scalable AAV production platform. As such, AMT’s proprietary platform holds tremendous promise for thousands of rare (orphan) diseases, especially those that are caused by one faulty gene.

According to Antonio Martínez, CEO of Progenika, “This collaborative project demonstrates how DNA-based diagnostics and highly targeted gene therapy can be combined to bring personalized medicine to patient groups whose medical needs were previously unmet.” His opposite number at AMT, Jörn Aldag, also highlighted the cooperation. “We are delighted to work with Progenika on the development of the LPLchip, as the company brings a unique expertise that fits the diagnostic needs for LPLD,” he stated.