PerkinElmer secures exclusive rights to Placental Protein 13 (PP13), a new prospective biomarker for identifying patients at risk for preeclampsia developed by Diagnostic Technologies (DTL)
PerkinElmer's ultimate goal is to provide an early marker for preeclampsia that will accelerate the identification of potential treatments at the onset of the disease process and allow healthcare professionals to better manage high-risk pregnancies.
Further testing of PP13 will determine whether it can detect the predisposition for preeclampsia to allow for such improved patient management.
Preeclampsia affects 5-7percent of all pregnant women and represents a serious challenge for obstetricians and prenatal and diagnostic laboratories.
The threatening disorder can result in loss of life; blindness; motor and mental disorders or premature newborns; pregnancy hypertension; and kidney, liver and cardiovascular malfunctioning.
It is estimated that nearly US$30 billion is spent today in healthcare costs to treat women with preeclampsia and their newborns.
"PerkinElmer is the market leader in prenatal risk assessment, and is committed to providing comprehensive maternal health solutions to protect at-risk women," said Robert Friel, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences.
"This new partnership with Diagnostic Technologies holds the promise to provide early identification of patients at risk for preeclampsia and facilitate the adoption of protective measures before complications develop".
Unlike other potential markers, detectable only a few weeks before clinical symptoms appear, the new PP13 marker appears to be manifested earlier in the pregnancy.
Preliminary research data shows that measuring PP13 in a blood sample during the routine prenatal testing in the first trimester might lead to as high as a 90 percent identification rate in women who are at risk.
In addition, PP13 appears to identify patients at risk for both forms of the disorder, including restricted fetal growth preeclampsia and normal fetal growth preeclampsia.
"According to CDC National Birth Statistics, preeclampsia is the second most frequent cause of maternal death during pregnancy," said Hamutal Meiri, CEO of Diagnostic Technologies.
"Our partnership with PerkinElmer will contribute to the effort to establish an important new marker for this disorder that could help raise the standard of care of maternal health during pregnancy".
"At present, there is no proven effective method for the prevention of preeclampsia, but there is some evidence that the prophylactic use of low-dose aspirin, starting from the first-trimester of pregnancy, could reduce the prevalence of the disease," said Kypros Nicolaides, director of the Fetal Medicine Foundation.
"The preliminary data on PP13 is encouraging.
"It is now necessary to validate that data and undertake a large screening study by maternal serum PP13 and uterine artery Doppler, and randomise women in the high-risk group to determine if early intervention can truly reduce the prevalence of the disease."
