NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – AMD Insight today announced it has exclusively licensed from ArcticDx the commercial rights in Canada for the Macula Risk PGx test.
Macula Risk PGx is a prognostic and pharmacogenetic DNA test for evaluating a patient’s risk of progressing to advanced age-related macular degeneration and aids in choosing appropriate vitamin formulations for AMD based on the patient’s genetic risk profile.
According to AMD Insight, about 10 percent of Caucasians will lose their sight due to AMD, and while progression to vision loss can be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment, up to 80 percent of advanced cases are diagnosed and referred to a specialist only in the later stages of the disease when permanent vision loss is likely.
ArcticDx President and CEO Greg Hines said that during the past decade, new technologies have been developed to diagnose and treat AMD, and new imaging technologies enable more accurate diagnosis. “Combining Macula Risk PGx with these technologies to stratify patients for disease management will improve outcomes,” he said in a statement.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
AMD Insight is based in Toronto and focuses on genetic testing for AMD. ArcticDx is a molecular diagnostics firm with a CLIA-regulated laboratory in Grand Rapids, Mich.