Study applying OPKO Health's technology to identify synthetic peptoid in NMO patient serum published

OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE: OPK) today announced the publication of a study applying its novel library screening technology to identify a synthetic peptoid that binds to anti-Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies in the serum of patients with Neuromyelitis optica (NMO). The study, published in the March 21, 2013 issue of the journal, Chemistry and Biology, reports on the ability to distinguish between NMO patient serum and serum from healthy controls or patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, narcolepsy, and lupus with high accuracy using the Company's powerful and general method for the identification in small blood samples of disease-specific antibodies that can serve as diagnostic biomarkers for various diseases. The technology has previously been validated using a mouse model for multiple sclerosis and also identified candidate biomarkers for human Alzheimer's Disease that are currently undergoing more extensive testing. NMO is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. In most NMO patients, autoantibodies to the water channel protein AQP4 represent at high levels and are thought to drive pathology by mediating complement-dependent destruction of astrocytes. NMO is often diagnosed as multiple sclerosis with potentially serious adverse consequences as the optimal treatment for each differs substantially.