CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Leiden University Medical Center and Inova Diagnostics have completed a worldwide license agreement for technology developed at LUMC to detect antibodies to carbamylated proteins (anti-CarP). This technology represents an important advance in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The anti-CarP technology “represents a significant advance in the diagnosis of RA, helping to close the serological gap that exists with current biomarkers,” Roger Ingles, CEO of Inova Diagnostics, said in a statement.
A study published last year by the team at LUMC in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that IgG and IgA antibodies recognizing carbamylated antigens were present in about 50 percent of RA patients. Anti-CarP IgG and IgA were detected in 16 percent and 30 percent of ACPA-negative RA patients, respectively. Additionally, anti-CarP antibodies were shown to be predictive of a more severe course of disease, as measured by radiological progression in ACPA-negative RA patients.
Inova Diagnostics, 858-586-9900