XDx Inc (BRISBANE, California), a molecular diagnostics company that focuses on immune-mediated diseases, announced the signing of an agreement with the University of Minnesota to exclusively license key intellectual property assets in the field of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The license, which augments XDx's proprietary position in this field, relates to the use of gene expression to assess the disease status of SLE patients, and was co-invented by the research groups of Dr. Timothy Behrens, adjunct professor of medicine and former head of the autoimmunity program at the University of Minnesota; Dr. Emily Gillespie, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota; and Dr. Peter K. Gregersen, of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, in New York.

XDx, the University of Minnesota, and The Feinstein Institute have also entered into a separate agreement that provides XDx access to clinical specimens from SLE patients, collected through an NIH-funded collaborative program to elucidate biomarkers of autoimmune diseases. XDx plans to advance the development of molecular diagnostics for lupus through the integration of these assets and technology along with its expertise in the field of genomics for immune-mediated conditions.

XDx's mission is to improve patient care by developing molecular diagnostics that translate an individual's immune status into clinically actionable information. Consistent with this mission, XDx intends to develop new technologies that enable physicians to assess disease severity, anticipate lupus flares, and make more informed therapeutic decisions. In addition to its potential use by physicians for better patient management, biomarkers developed by XDx may predict drug efficacy and be useful in proactively identifying patient response and in better targeting the drug development efforts and clinical trials of the pharmaceutical companies.

—A. Techman

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