AYOXXA Launches LUNARIS Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit

• LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit allows accurate and precise quantitative analysis of retinal angiogenic diseases (RAD)-related biomarker signatures from scarce human vitreous and aqueous humor samples
  
• Kit covers a comprehensive selection of angiogenic and inflammatory factors as well as chemokines found to play significant roles in the pathology of retinal angiogenic diseases (RAD) next to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the target molecule of today’s standard of care
  
• The analysis of protein signatures of RAD-related pathways could provide novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for patient stratification and monitoring
  
• LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit is available now, adding to AYOXXA’s already existing portfolio of ophthalmology panels

Cologne, Germany, December 5, 2017 - AYOXXA Biosystems GmbH, an international biotechnology company, focused on the development and commercialization of innovative multiplex protein analysis technologies enabling translational research in basic and clinical research, today announced the launch of LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit for the quantitative analysis of biomarker signatures from human vitreous and aqueous samples. The assay is optimized for usage on LUNARIS^TM, AYOXXA’s innovative multiplex protein analysis system.

“LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit is a reliable and precise assay for the analysis of proteins from minute amounts of ocular fluids. This will support the development of diagnostic kits that may provide biomarker detection in a variety of the most common RADs in order to pave the way for the development of innovative and novel therapies and to support clinicians in tailored treatment decisions,” said Rodney Turner, CEO of AYOXXA. “With the launch of the new LUNARIS^TM Human Cytokine 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit we thus follow our primary mission to provide tools that enable translational research.”

LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit for the analysis of protein signatures that may facilitate identification of biomarker candidates for patient stratification and monitoring

Due to its central role in pathogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the pharmaceutical target molecule of anti-VEGF therapies which today are considered as the standard of care in most RADs such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), diabetic macular edema (DME) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, response rates vary between individuals and the rate of non-responders to anti-VEGF therapies is high.

More recently, additional factors that are involved in RAD development and progression have been identified. These factors, such as angiogenic mediators and inflammatory cytokines, may represent alternative therapeutic targets and also potential biomarkers in patient stratification and monitoring. They may help ophthalmologists to decide on best therapies or can be further developed for use in clinical drug development and diagnostics.

LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit - a comprehensive selection of RAD-related biomarkers: VEGF, angiogenic & inflammatory factors

The LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit is designed for the accurate and precise quantitative analysis of biomarkers of RAD-related angiogenic and inflammatory pathways. Besides VEGF, the LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology assay comprises a panel of highly specific antibody pairs against a comprehensive selection of RAD-related biomarkers. The biomarkers covered by this assay are angiogenic and inflammatory factors including Angiopoietin-2, CRP, IL-6, IL-8, PDGF-BB, PIGF as well as chemokines such as CCL2, CXCL11, CXCL12 and CXCL13.

The newly introduced and validated kit follows a classical sandwich immunoassay principle with fluorescence readout, showing highest precision and outstanding performance data.

LUNARIS^TM multiplex protein analysis addresses most limiting obstacles in ophthalmology: scarce human vitreous and aqueous humor samples

Specimens used in ophthalmology are often rare and only limited sample volumes are available from clinical interventions or animal models. Also, the high viscosity of matrices like e.g. vitreous fluid often impedes the precise quantification of certain biomarkers.

The LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit is optimized to run on AYOXXA’s proprietary system LUNARIS^TM that is specifically designed for multiplex protein analysis of highly precious and scarce samples. LUNARIS^TM is a fully integrated system with flexible scalability and optimized for sample volumes as low as 3μL, which is as little as one-tenth the volume required for similar technologies. The system includes a dedicated LUNARIS^TM reader and best-in-class automated analysis software for image-based analysis with a 100% read-out of data.

“Our state-of-the-art portfolio of immunoassays comprising the most important ophthalmology biomarkers combined with the superiority of our LUNARIS^TM system in terms of data quality, minimal sample volume requirements and scalability, position AYOXXA at the forefront of multiplex protein analysis in ophthalmology,” said Wolfgang Kintzel, COO of AYOXXA. “Our approach is validated through our broad and solid network and long-lasting co-operations with leading centers and experts in the area of ophthalmology such as the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and the EYE-RISK consortium. These close connections provide us with exclusive access to know-how and clinical samples and enable us to further drive translational science to enhance ophthalmology research, drug development and finally diagnostics.”

The new LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit adds to the already existing portfolio of standardized biomarker kits including human and mouse cytokine and ophthalmology panels. The newly introduced LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit is available now.

For more information on the LUNARIS^TM Human 11-Plex Ophthalmology Kit please visit www.ayoxxa.com/newsroom

About RAD:
Retinal angiogenic diseases (RAD) such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), diabetic macular edema (DME) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are the leading causes of blindness worldwide.

Several angiogenic and inflammatory factors such as Angiopoietin-2, VEGF-A, MCP-1 (CCL2), IP-10 (CXCL10), SDF-1 (CXCL12), BCA-1 (CXCL13), IL-6, IL-8, PlGF and PDGF-BB, have been found to play significant roles. Given its central role in pathogenesis of RADs, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) evolved as a therapeutic target in pharmaceutical drug development and anti-VEGF therapies mainly address the specific VEGF-mediated pathway of the disease. Thanks to their efficacy and improved visual outcomes, anti-VEGF therapies are now considered as the standard of care for most RADs. However, the response to these drugs varies among individuals and the group of non-responders within e.g. AMD patients is considered to be as high as 40%.

Continuous research in the past years has helped to identify other pathways that are involved in disease development and progression and highlights the multifactorial and complex nature of RADs.

About AYOXXA:
AYOXXA Biosystems GmbH is an international life science company based in Cologne (Germany) with offices in Boston, MA (USA) and Singapore. AYOXXA enables its customers and partners to utilize its reliable and optimized platform technology to fuel breakthroughs in all areas of life science research and to enhance success in translational science.

With LUNARIS^TM, its proprietary innovative beads-on-a-chip multiplexing platform for advanced protein analysis, the Company is paving the way for translating knowledge generated in a laboratory environment through clinical studies in support of basic biology and across drug development. With its advantages in terms of quality, flexibility, robustness and efficiency, LUNARIS^TM enables fully scalable quantification of biomarkers in minute amounts of biological samples. AYOXXA is commercializing a growing portfolio of standardized ready-to-use biomarker analysis assays, with a focus on the biology of inflammation and immune response.

For more information, please visit www.ayoxxa.com

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LUNARIS^TM products are intended “for research use only” and may not be used in diagnostic procedures.

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