Spartan Bioscience and Angiocare Partner to Bring the World's First Rapid Precision Medicine DNA Test to Cardiac Stent Patients in Europe

OTTAWA, Ontario, Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Spartan Bioscience, a world leader in precision medicine diagnostic solutions, and Angiocare, the leading distributor for medical diagnostic and interventional solutions in the Netherlands, have entered into a collaborative partnership to advance adoption of Spartan's rapid precision medicine DNA test for cardiac stent patients and all other vascular patients who receive antiplatelet medication. Angiocare is part of Uniphar plc, the European Union's largest integrated healthcare supply and services provider.

Over 30% of the world's population, and 50% of Asians, carry CYP2C19 mutations. CYP2C19 is a liver enzyme that metabolizes 15% of all prescribed drugs, including antiplatelet drugs. Carrying a CYP2C19 mutation can impair drug metabolism.(1,2,3,4) Plavix® (clopidogrel), prescribed in the majority of ACS/PCI interventions worldwide, has an FDA "black box" drug label warning for poor response for CYP2C19 loss-of-function carriers.(5) For heart attack patients, most complications from poor Plavix® response occur in the first 24-48 hours after cardiac stenting.(6,7) Spartan's rapid, portable test allows real-time, near patient determination of the patient's genotype, aiding in determining the appropriate antiplatelet treatment.

The Spartan technology has been used in several landmark clinical studies including, POPular Genetics, a 2,500 patient, 8-year study in Europe published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), and announced at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).(8) In addition, Spartan was used in TAILOR-PCI, a 5,300 patient, 7-year study funded by Mayo Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). TAILOR-PCI is the largest trial of genetics in cardiology and results are scheduled to be announced at the American Cardiology Association (ACC) conference in March 2020.

"Angiocare has been involved with Interventional cardiology solutions for over 16 years in the Netherlands and we are very excited to partner with Spartan to bring this innovative, non-invasive diagnostic precision medicine tool to our community of world-leading cardiologists," said Jan Willem Jongma, CEO Angiocare. "We feel strongly that it will lead to better patient outcomes, lower readmission rates, and lower-cost healthcare for everyone."

Paul Lem, MD. and CEO of Spartan Bioscience, said, "We are looking forward to our partnership with Angiocare. Over the last 16 years, they have established themselves as thought leaders in interventional cardiology solutions. Our collaboration with Angiocare will ultimately benefit anyone in the Netherlands who faces a life-threatening Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) event. Knowing what I know, I would insist on a DNA test before being prescribed an antiplatelet drug."

About CYP2C19
The CYP2C19 enzyme metabolizes approximately 15 percent of all prescribed drugs, including important drug classes such as antiplatelet therapies, beta blockers, antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors, and anti-epileptics.(9) About 30% of Caucasians, and more than 50% of Asians and East Indians, carry CYP2C19 gene variants that reduce response to drugs metabolized by CYP2C19.(1,2,3,4) These include widely-used drugs such as Plavix®, Inderal®, Celexa®, and Losec®.

About Spartan Bioscience
Spartan Bioscience is the leader in on-demand DNA testing. (10) Spartan is bringing complete sample-to-result DNA testing systems to medicine. Spartan's technology fully integrates DNA collection, extraction, and analysis, with an intuitive interface that is easy to operate. In the same way that mainframe computers gave way to personal computers, high-throughput DNA testing systems in central labs are giving way to decentralized devices. For the first time, healthcare providers and their patients can get DNA results on demand. For more information, please visit our website at: http://www.spartanbio.com.

The Spartan logo is a registered trademark of Spartan Bioscience Inc.

Plavix is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals.

References
1. Damani SB, Topol EJ. (2010). J Am Coll Cardiol. 56:109?11.
2. Chen M et al. (2011). Atherosclerosis. 220(1):168?71.
3. Oh IY et al. (2012). Heart. 98(2):139?44.
4. Jose R et al. (2004). Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology. 19(1): 101?105.
5. Dayoub EJ. (2018). JAMA Intern Med. 178(7): 943?950.
6. Mega JL et al. (2009). N Engl J Med. 360: 354?62.
7. Wiviott SD et al. (2007). N Engl J Med. 357: 2001?2015.
8. Claassens DMF et al. (2019). N Engl J Med. 381(17): 1621?1631.
9. dbSNP Short Genetic Variations. Reference SNP (refSNP) Cluster Report: rs12248560
10. Roberts JD et al. (2012). Lancet. 379:1705?11.

SOURCE Spartan Bioscience Inc.