Proteomics International and Dimerix will evaluate the performance of PromarkerD alongside DMX-200 in early phase clinical trials for chronic kidney disease.
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MELBOURNE, Australia - 14 December 2017 - Dimerix Limited (ASX: DXB), a clinical stage biotechnology company is pleased to announce that it has partnered with a leader in predictive diagnostics, Proteomics International (ASX:PIQ), to improve the treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Proteomics International (PI) has developed PromarkerD, a predictive and diagnostic test for diabetic kidney disease that measures a protein biomarker panel in the blood. Dimerix has developed its lead therapeutic program for CKD, called DMX-200. In a recently completed Phase 2a clinical trial, Dimerix’s DMX-200 therapeutic was shown to be safe in patients and also showed promising efficacy signals, particularly in patients with diabetic kidney disease, called Diabetic Nephropathy. PromarkerD has been shown in clinical studies to predict rapid decline in kidney function, up to four years in advance. Proteomics International and Dimerix will evaluate the performance of PromarkerD alongside DMX-200 in early phase clinical trials for chronic kidney disease. The condition is referred to as a ‘silent disease’ because it often has no symptoms in its early stages and can go undetected until it is very advanced. PromarkerD has the potential to serve as a Companion Diagnostic test (CDx) in clinical trials to help measure and monitor the effectiveness of a drug. A CDx can help identify at risk patients who might benefit from taking the drug, enable more accurate dosing, and help monitor clinical end points and side effects. In combination, a validated CDx can improve the success rate of drug candidates. It is expected the PromarkerD test will be used to explore the response of healthy volunteers to treatment in the Dimerix Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study currently underway at Linear Clinical Research (Perth, Australia), and in the upcoming Phase 2 trial program. CEO of Dimerix, Kathy Harrison said “Chronic Kidney Disease is a massive and rapidly growing issue. Many patients are diagnosed too late and the existing treatments can have little to no effect. Having a test which can predict disease progression will undoubtedly be beneficial to both controlling disease and treating it with new drugs like DMX-200.” Dr Richard Lipscombe, Managing Director of Proteomic International said “It's great to see Australian innovation leading the world in the treatment of kidney disease and diabetes. The era of precision medicine is here and we're delighted to be working with Dimerix to try to improve the speed of drug development. This could benefit patients around the world.” If PromarkerD proves successful as a Companion Diagnostic test to support the use of DMX-200 as treatment for chronic kidney disease then Dimerix will have the option to licence PromarkerD for on-going use. Preliminary results will be available during 2018. |
