PRNewswire
Singapore/ Tokyo [Japan], December 15: BioCheetah Pte. Ltd. (Head Office: Singapore; CEO: Dr. Lee Kian Chung; hereinafter “BioCheetah”) and Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo; President: Mr. Atsuhiro Wakumoto; hereinafter “Nippon Kayaku”) announce that the two companies have entered into an exclusive licensing and commercialization agreement to develop and market a novel urinary biomarkers-based bladder cancer diagnostic assay kit, VECanDx™ ELISA (hereinafter “Product”) in Japan.
Under the agreement, BioCheetah will grant Nippon Kayaku the exclusive rights to develop and market the Product in Japan. BioCheetah will continue to complete clinical trials in Singapore, France and China, while Nippon Kayaku will be responsible for clinical trials, regulatory application, distribution and sales of the Product in Japan. BioCheetah will receive upfront and milestone payments from Nippon Kayaku upon signing of the agreement and commercialization of the Product in Japan.
Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cancer worldwide. Blood in the urine (hematuria) is one of the symptoms. The current gold standard in bladder cancer diagnosis is cystoscopy. Cystoscopy is an invasive diagnostic procedure that requires anesthesia and with numerous side-effects. Survival is greatly dependent upon the stage at which the cancer has been diagnosed. BioCheetah intends to fill the unmet diagnostic gap by providing non-invasive diagnostic tests that are specific and sensitive towards bladder cancer detection.
VECanDx™ ELISA is a proprietary non-invasive urine test for adults with hematuria or a history of bladder cancer developed by BioCheetah. It is an ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay)-based assay that measures the protein expression levels of five novel biomarkers by proprietary detection antibodies. The measurements are then analyzed by a proprietary software into a single risk score to detect the presence or absence of bladder cancer.
About BioCheetah
BioCheetah is a Singapore-based A*STAR/IMCB spin-off diagnostic company. It develops proprietary set of novel biomarkers and detection antibodies for diagnostic applications. Its most advanced test kit VECanDx™ ELISA, for diagnosis and monitoring of bladder cancer is available as a lab-developed test (LDT) and will be launched soon as in vitro diagnostic (IVD) for clinical utility. Other pipeline products include Point-of-Care Test (POCT) kits. BioCheetah runs an ISO13485 pilot production facility in Singapore.
About Nippon Kayaku
Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO: 4272) with Pharmaceuticals business. Nippon Kayaku’s history in the anti-cancer field started with the launch of BLEO® in 1969, and currently has many anti-cancer line-up. On the basis of Nippon Kayaku’s network of cancer-specialist medical representatives, highly reliable information can be rapidly provided to physicians, pharmacists and nurses at clinical institutions. In recent years, Nippon Kayaku has been furthering efforts into the areas of biosimilar products, generic anti-cancer drugs, as well as medical device so that they can continue to provide highly necessary pharmaceuticals, medical device and diagnostic drugs for patients along with exceptionally reliable information to the medical institutions.
Contact:
BioCheetah Pte. Ltd.
Email: enquiry@biocheetah.com
Website: www.biocheetah.com
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