Progentec Diagnostics Awarded SBIR Fast-Track Grant To Develop Immune Mediator-Based Blood Tests For Clinical Disease Activity In Lupus (SLE)

In-development laboratory tests will inform concurrent and future clinical disease activity

Oklahoma City, OK /PRNewswire/ - Progentec, a leader in the development of technological innovations in the field of diagnostics, today announced it has been awarded a Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The grant funds will be released in two installments starting with a Phase I award of $225,000. In total, the grant has the potential to provide $1.7 million in non-dilutive financial resources.

The grant supports clinical research to evaluate the accuracy and predictive power of blood biomarker-based laboratory tests for the measurement of SLE (Lupus) disease activity. Current measures of disease activity, including the SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K), require clinician assessment and offer no forecasting potential. "We anticipate that the tests in development by Progentec will support clinicians in selecting optimal treatment plans, adjusting medication dosing, and measuring outcomes for lupus patients," said Mohan Purushothaman, Ph.D., the CEO of Progentec.

The NIAID, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded Progentec the grant as part of its mission to "conduct and support basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases." The lead investigators are Melissa Munroe, M.D., Ph.D. and Eldon Jupe, Ph.D. of Progentec.

"Progentec has worked to identify relevant lupus biomarkers and methods of analysis. This grant offers us an opportunity to validate the prognostic value of these tests," said Jupe.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R44AI142967. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that there are as many as 1.5 million lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE) patients in the USA. Primarily afflicting women between the ages of 15 and 44 years old, this autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissues. People with lupus experience periods of flares and remissions that can be triggered by physiological and environmental stimuli. Over time, lupus damages structures throughout the body including the kidneys, lungs, skin, heart, and reproductive organs.

About Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.
Progentec is committed to improving access and health outcomes for patients in therapeutic areas with a high level of unmet need by combining clinically-validated diagnostic interventions with state-of-the-art digital technologies. Through collaborations with research institutions and health practitioners around the world, Progentec is working to reduce mortality and morbidity while improving care management and service delivery for chronic health conditions.

Forward-Looking Statements:
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