Five months after being listed on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm, chemical allergy test developer SenzaGen has signed its first global licensing agreement, allowing incorporation of its GARD test in Eurofins Munich’s human safety testing kit.
SenzaGen’s GARD, or genomic allergen rapid detection, is an in vitro platform that mimics the immune system. It utilizes genetic biomarkers for more than 200 genes to predict whether chemicals are at risk of causing allergies.
Touting the tests’ 90% reliability, SenzaGen says its models produce conclusive results and can therefore be offered as reliable alternatives to tests in mice, which usually has an accuracy of 70%-75%.
Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing Munich previously joined Burleson’s Research Technologies in the U.S. and SenzaGen’s own lab in Lund, Sweden, in a multicenter ring test evaluating GARDskin, a first product of the GARD family.
SenzaGen reported positive data from the study last December, which “shows that GARD consistently outperforms all existing validated test methods,” said CEO Anki Malmborg Hager at the time.
Now Eurofins has become the first to license GARDskin and the add-on test GARDpotency for inclusion in its chemical safety testing services to its clients in the cosmetic, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. GARDpotency subcategorize sensitizers according to CLP/GHS classifications by monitoring the expression of 52 genomic biomarkers, according to SenzaGen’s website.
“This new license agreement with such a major and strong partner provides an important stepping stone in the global marketing of GARD and it is also a hallmark of the high quality and relevance of GARD,” said Hager in a statement.
The Swedish company now expects regulatory approval and inclusion in international test guidelines for GARDskin in April 2019.
The deal came about five months after SenzaGen started trading on Nasdaq First North, a small company-focused market in Europe that applies a less extensive rulebook.
“Over the next few years the company will expand geographically, make alliances with more distribution partners and launch further unique tests,” SenzaGen said in a release.