SBIR-STTR Award

Inulin Immunoassay For Kidney Function
Award last edited on: 3/4/14

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIDDK
Total Award Amount
$1,060,905
Award Phase
2
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Ernest V Groman

Company Information

BioPal Inc (AKA: Biophysics Assay Laboratory Inc)

80 Webster Street
Worcester, MA 01603
   (508) 770-1190
   cs@biopal.com
   www.biopal.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 02
County: Worcester

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43DK088349-01
Start Date: 9/1/10    Completed: 8/31/11
Phase I year
2010
Phase I Amount
$97,905
The absence of a widely accepted commercially available method to measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in animal models and in the clinic has had profoundly negative effects on (i) developing methods and drugs for treating kidney disease, (ii) accurately assessing kidney transplant recipients and donors, (iii) calibrating drug dosing in the young and elderly, (iv) minimizing nephrotoxicity in the drug development process, and (v) accurately assessing nephrotoxicity in the clinical setting. Inulin is the gold standard for measuring GFR. A sensitive, specific and easy assay to measure inulin is most likely to be accepted for general research, clinical research, and clinical applications. A diagnostic test for inulin using immunoassay techniques to measure its clearance from the kidney offers a unique opportunity for a needed technology and an analytical tool superior to all current methods. We have raised polyclonal antisera to inulin and propose to develop a set of reagents that demonstrate the feasibility of measuring inulin using immunoassay. An inulin immunoassay avoids the shortcomings of other inulin assays and is easy to perform, cost effective, highly specific, and far more sensitive than currently available inulin assays. We anticipate that an immunoassay for inulin can be produced wherein all the reagents are stable, the lower limit of detection of inulin is less than 30ng/ml, the specificity of the antibody for inulin allows discrimination between all common sugars and polysaccharides (both endogenous, synthetic, and botanical), the antibody titer is greater than 10,000, and the assay can be completed within 75 minutes. All of these criteria are necessary for the development of an automated assay for inulin and the commercialization of this assay. Phase II will demonstrate the application of the reagents to measuring GFR values in animal models. , ,

Public Health Relevance:
The project will further develop a diagnostic test to measure kidney function. The test will utilize well-known and widely available analytical technology and will utilize the ""gold standard"" for the measure of kidney function. Therefore, this test will be able to quickly enter the market-place.

Thesaurus Terms:
21+ Years Old;4h-Imidazol-4-One, 2-Amino-1,5-Dihydro-1-Methyl-;Adult;Affect;Aged 65 And Over;American;Animal Model;Animal Models And Related Studies;Antibodies;Antibody Specificity;Antisera;Area;Assay;Au Element;Basic Research;Basic Science;Bioassay;Biologic Assays;Biological Assay;Blood Serum;Botanicals;Crea;Chemicals;Chronic Kidney Failure;Chronic Renal Disease;Clinic;Clinical;Clinical Research;Clinical Study;Cognitive Discrimination;Creatinine;Cyclic Gmp;Data;Detection;Development;Diagnostic;Diagnostic Method;Diagnostic Procedure;Diagnostic Technique;Diagnostic Tests;Diet Modification;Dietary Intervention;Discrimination;Discrimination (Psychology);Disease;Disease Progression;Disorder;Dose;Drug Formulations;Drugs;Elderly;Elderly, Over 65;Epidemiology;Fda Approved;Filtration;Fluorescence;Formulation;Formulations, Drug;Foundations;Fractionation, Filtration;Glomerular Filtration Rate;Glycans;Goals;Gold;Grafting, Kidney;Guanosine Cyclic 3',5'-Monophosphate;Guanosine Cyclic Monophosphate;Guanosine, Cyclic 3',5'-(Hydrogen Phosphate);Human, Adult;Immune Sera;Immunoassay;Injection Of Therapeutic Agent;Injections;Inulin;Investigators;Kidney;Kidney Diseases;Kidney Failure, Chronic;Kidney Transplantation;Kidney Transplants;Kinetic;Kinetics;Marketing;Measures;Medical;Medication;Metabolic Clearance Rate;Method Loinc Axis 6;Methodology;Methods;Methods And Techniques;Methods, Other;Modifications, Dietary;Molecular Weight;Needs Assessment;Nephropathy;Nutrition Interventions;Nutritional Interventions;Output;Performance;Pharmaceutic Preparations;Pharmaceutical Agent;Pharmaceutical Preparations;Pharmaceuticals;Pharmacologic Substance;Pharmacological Substance;Pharmacopoeias;Phase;Physiologic;Physiological;Plants;Plants, General;Polysaccharides;Principal Investigator;Procedures;Process;Production;Publishing;Radioactive;Reagent;Recovery;Renal Disease;Renal Failure, Chronic;Renal Transplantation;Renal Transplants;Renal Clearance Function;Renal Function;Research;Research Personnel;Researchers;Risk;Sbir;Sbirs (R43/44);Sampling;Serum;Shapes;Small Business Innovation Research;Small Business Innovation Research Grant;Specificity;Techniques;Technology;Testing;Transplant Recipients;United States;Urinary System, Kidney;Adult Human (21+);Advanced Age;Analytical Tool;Base;Biomarker;Cgmp;Chronic Kidney Disease;Clearance Rate;Clinical Applicability;Clinical Application;Clinical Practice;Commercialization;Cost;Cost Effective;Cross Reactivity;Cystatin C;Design;Designing;Disease/Disorder;Drug Development;Drug/Agent;Elders;Expectation;Geriatric;Guanosine 3'5' Monophosphate;Improved;Kidney Disorder;Kidney Function;Late Life;Later Life;Meetings;Model Organism;Nephrotoxicity;Older Adult;Older Person;Polyclonal Antibody;Post Gamma-Globulins;Post-Gamma-Protein;Public Health Relevance;Renal;Renal Clearance;Renal Disorder;Response;Senior Citizen;Standard Measure;Success;Sugar;Transplant Patient

Phase II

Contract Number: 2R44DK088349-02A1
Start Date: 9/1/10    Completed: 8/31/14
Phase II year
2012
(last award dollars: 2013)
Phase II Amount
$963,000

The absence of a widely accepted commercially available method to measure glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in animal models and in the clinic has had profoundly negative effects on (i) developing methods and drugs for treating kidney disease, (ii) accurately assessing kidney transplant recipients and donors, (iii) calibrating drug dosing in the young and elderly, (iv) minimizing nephrotoxicity in the drug development process, and (v) accurately assessing nephrotoxicity in the clinical setting. Inulin is the gold standard fo measuring GFR. A sensitive, specific and easy assay to measure inulin is most likely to be accepted for general research, clinical research, and in the clinic. Inulin is free of any controversy associated with gadolinium chelates often proposed as GFR probes. We have completed all specific aims outlined in our Phase I application yielding a research immunoassay for inulin and a diagnostic test to measure glomerular filtration rate. Our inulin ELISA avoids the shortcomings of other inulin assays, is easy to perform, cost effective, highly specific, and far more sensitive than currently available inulin assays. All reagents are stable, the lower limit of inulin detection is less than 10ng/ml, the specificity of the antibody for inulin allows discrimination between inulin and all common sugars and polysaccharides. Completion of Phase II will see the launch of two products and one service. The two products are inulin in sodium chloride injection, USP, and a cGMP FIT-GFR inulin kit. The service provides a CLIA licensed laboratory equipped to measure and report GFR (mGFR) determinations from samples obtained from research laboratories, veterinary and medical practices.

Public Health Relevance:
The project will further develop a diagnostic test to measure kidney function. The test will utilize well-known and widely available analytical technology and will utilize the ""gold standard"" for the measure of kidney function. Therefore, this test will be ale to quickly enter the market-place.