Diagnostics

Winnipeg biotech firm markets simple skin test for cholesterol

A Winnipeg biotech company has acquired the worldwide rights to a new technology that can detect high levels of cholesterol in a patient through a simple skin test that can be performed in a doctor’s office. Chemicals are applied to a patient’s hand that binds to the cholesterol, and results are read and generated by a computerized reader in five minutes.

Miraculins Inc. recently announced it has acquired the rights to a technology called the PREVU Skin Cholesterol Test from a Toronto research firm, PreMD Inc.

The test has already been cleared for use in Canada, the United States and Europe, and should be available in those markets in the second quarter of next year.

Miraculins purchased the test from PreMD after the firm ran into financial difficulties and was forced to sell off its assets. That included the skin cholesterol test it had developed and was in the process of trying to bring to market.

Miraculins president and CEO Christopher Moreau (pictured) estimates the test could generate millions of dollars a year in additional revenues for Miraculins, which specializes in commercializing medical diagnostic tests that have been developed by universities, hospitals or research firms.

The skin cholesterol test is not meant as a replacement for the standard blood-cholesterol test. Rather, it’s more of an early-detection tool that can be used before blood tests are ordered.

“It’s one more important piece of information in trying to assess someone’s risk of developing heart disease,” Moreau said. “It’s non-invasive, it’s not expensive... and it could help save lives.”

The test can be done in a doctor’s office and the results are available within five minutes. It could be particularly useful in rural areas that don’t have easy access to blood-testing services.

The PREVU test is performed on a patient’s hand. A portion of skin on the palm is cleaned and a small pad with holes in it is placed on the skin. A chemical is applied that binds to the cholesterol in the skin and the skin changes colour. A computerized “reader” calculates the results.

Human skin contains 11 per cent of the body’s cholesterol and ages in parallel with vascular connective tissue. As blood vessel walls accumulate cholesterol, so do the skin tissues. So a high skin-cholesterol level is a reliable indicator of higher cholesterol accumulation in the arteries. For more information, visit www.prevu.com.

Posted August 19, 2010