Iverson Genetic Diagnostics has signed an agreement with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to license a molecular diagnostics test which determines cardiovascular risk in men and women and infertility risk in women.
Under the agreement, Iverson has gained commercializing rights for the test, designed to assess healthy cholesterol fraction, HDL, and its partner protein, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI).
Mutations within the SR-BI gene (SCARB1) is associated with heart disease risk in men and women as well as hormonal and fertility problems in women, according to studies conducted by Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo at John Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Institute for Systems Biology co-founder and Iverson Genetic Diagnostics board of directors member Leroy Hood said, "The importance of finding gene variants that affect the metabolism of cholesterol, especially the healthy fraction, and hormones–hence causing disease–is incredibly important for personalized medicine."
Iverson Genetic Diagnostics CEO Dean Sproles said, "We are very pleased to collaborate with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine on this product and look forward to including the new SR-BI test in the Iverson’s Physician’s Logic portfolio later this year."