US Medical Diagnostics Company Acquires Biosensia

Pictured at NovaUCD is Niamh O'Luanaigh, Chief Operating Officer, Biosensia.

US Medical Diagnostics Company Acquires Biosensia

- Expands first-in-class immune status monitoring platforms

Kypha, a US medical diagnostics company, developing specialised biomarker testing solutions for precision monitoring of immune status and inflammation, has acquired Biosensia, an Irish diagnostics platform and contract development company, to strengthen Kypha's product portfolio.

Biosensia, established in 2009, is headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, and will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kypha.


Pictured at NovaUCD is Niamh O'Luanaigh, Chief Operating Officer, Biosensia.

This acquisition demonstrates Kypha's commitment to meet the need for universally accessible, reliable and timely immune status results in virtually any setting from acute hospital care, to centralised laboratories, physician offices and home use. 

The combined first-in-class platforms promise to quickly and accurately detect meaningful changes in immune-mediated disease activity for more effective treatment decisions and patient care.

Kypha's innovative diagnostics platforms measure Complement and other important immune status biomarkers accurately, and reliably.

Kypha's Comp act® testing platform, analytically validated and GMP-manufactured, includes a small portable instrument with multiple single-use rapid assay cassettes designed to quantitatively measure Complement activation biomarkers, from a small volume of blood in either laboratory or point-of-care settings.

Biosensia's RapiPlex is a proprietary diagnostic system designed to support CLIA-waived protocols and is capable of producing laboratory quality quantitative and qualitative results with a disposable cartridge for up to 24 biomarkers in a multiplex format.

"The proprietary technologies and core competencies of each company are perfectly synergistic. Blending them enhances and accelerates the delivery of our products to health care practitioners, researchers and pharmaceutical companies seeking to more precisely assess and monitor immune status dynamics. The addition of Biosensia's EU-based ISO-certified facilities and deeply experienced core team allows us to bring product development, quality control and test manufacturing in house and continue to provide contract assay development and manufacturing services to Biosensia clients around the world," according to Dr Chad Stiening, Chief Executive Officer, Kypha. 

Niamh O'Luanaigh, Chief Operating Officer, Biosensia, said, "We are very excited about bringing our advanced platform together with Kypha's specialised biomarker testing and achieving the clinical impact that we designed RapiPlex to fulfil."

She added, “This is a fantastic development for Biosensia and recognises the hard work and dedication of our highly-skilled team which we now plan to expand following the acquisition by Kypha.”  

"With continued growth in biologic and cellular therapies targeting Complement and immune-mediated mechanisms, the need for these solutions is growing rapidly. This acquisition reinforces our position as the ideal diagnostic partner for stratifying patient populations and tailoring treatment for each patient suffering from immune mediated conditions," said Dr Martin Schmidt, Chief Scientific Officer, Kypha.

Biosensia has been funded by Atlantic Bridge, Seroba Life Sciences, ACT Venture Capital, Street Capital and a number of private investors.

ENDS

16 July 2018

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: + 353 1 716 3712.

Editors Notes

Kypha is a clinically focused diagnostics company developing, validating and commercialising specialised biomarker testing capable of providing reliable and timely results in any clinical setting, in order to dramatically improve the way autoimmune and inflammatory conditions are monitored and treated.  www.kypha.net

Biosensia is a science focused company established to develop, manufacture, and launch the RapiPlex platform and tests. The company has core skills and experience in immunology, biochemistry, microfluidics, design engineering, manufacturing and quality/regulatory affairs.  Biosensia also offers contract assay development and manufacturing, and its facilities are ISO 13485-certified. www.biosensia.com