Johns Hopkins, Iverson enter licensing agreement for molecular diagnostics

Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc. announced today an exclusive licensing agreement with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under which Iverson receives global exclusive commercialization rights for molecular diagnostics that are designed to help physicians to assess cardiovascular risk in men and women and infertility risk in women. In this new era of personalized medicine, it is now possible to more accurately determine if the healthy cholesterol fraction, HDL, and its partner protein, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), affect risk for heart disease in men and women as well as hormonal and fertility outcomes in women. Mutations within the SR-BI gene (SCARB1) are common and work by Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo, M.D. at John Hopkins University School of Medicine has suggested that variations within the SCARB1 gene show associations with heart disease risk in men and women as well as hormonal and fertility problems in women.    

Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder of the Institute for Systems Biology and a member of Iverson Genetic Diagnostics' Board of Directors, commented, "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. This agreement between Iverson and Johns Hopkins is a wonderful example of a diagnostic test that could significantly improve the health of many patients throughout the world."

Dean Sproles, CEO of Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc., stated, "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^TM portfolio later this year."

Source: Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, Inc.