LabCorp, XDx partner to develop and commercialize SLE flare predictor test

XDx, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Laboratory Corporation of America^® Holdings (LabCorp) (NYSE: LH) whereby each party will collaborate in marker discovery, and LabCorp will develop and commercialize a diagnostic test to predict flares of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The agreement combines XDx's autoimmune diagnostics research and discovery experience and SLE blood sample database with LabCorp's diagnostic development and commercialization resources.

SLE, also known as lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting over 1.5 million people in the U.S., according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus disease flares are periods of increased disease activity. The major challenge for physicians managing patients with lupus is to treat this active phase without allowing the treatment itself to cause long-term damage. Treatment for active lupus differs, depending on the organ systems involved and disease severity. Current treatment often includes a combination of drugs.

Pierre Cassigneul, XDx's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Building upon our success in the immune-mediated diagnostic market with our first approved product, AlloMap^® Molecular Expression Testing, XDx is dedicated to expanding its pipeline of high value diagnostic tests to other diseases that involve the activity of the immune system. In lupus, we have developed an extensive, proprietary database of lupus blood samples that we will use in collaboration with LabCorp to initiate its development of a biomarker for the flare test. We look forward to a fruitful relationship with this world-class partner."

"Lupus remains a critical area of unmet medical need, and new tests are needed to help clinicians anticipate when patients may need additional therapeutic interventions for the treatment of flares," stated LabCorp's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Mark Brecher. "This agreement with XDx advances our strategy of developing and introducing tests to provide personalized information that can be used to help physicians and their patients."

Source: XDx