Under the deal, the university will help MDNA to further develop and validate its non-invasive blood-based test for endometriosis.
The study will use MDNA's Mitomic technology to isolate mitochondrial biomarkers circulating in blood plasma, which can accurately differentiate women with and without endometriosis.
The test is being developed to manage endometriosis by closing the average nine-year gap between symptom onset and diagnosis.
Based on the results of the study, the test is expected to launch in the next year.
Mitomic technology is said to exploit the unique biological characteristics of mitochondrial DNA, making it an advanced system for biomarker discovery, early disease detection, monitoring, risk assessment and therapeutic targeting.
The platform enabled to discover multiple novel and proprietary biomarkers for a multitude of cancers and other diseases, said the company.
University of Oxford professor Christian Becker said: "This collaborative effort between MDNA Life Sciences and the Endometriosis CaRe Centre is an exciting novel project aiming to identify urgently needed biomarkers in endometriosis focusing on mitochondrial DNA.
MDNA Life Sciences CEO Chris Mitton said: "Particularly for endometriosis, which affects 10% of women of childbearing age and currently relies on an invasive surgical procedure for diagnosis, there is significant value in the development of a non-invasive molecular test.
“The combination of our Mitomic Technology with the high quality, well-documented clinical specimens from the University of Oxford provides a powerful advantage for our efforts to develop enhanced diagnostic and screening tools for this high burden disease.”
MDNA Life Sciences is engaged in the development of molecular diagnostic tests by using mitochondrial genome.
