Aeterna Zentaris Inc. announced it has begun promoting APIFINY, the only non-PSA blood test for the evaluation of prostate cancer risk, in the U.S. under a co-marketing agreement with Armune BioScience, Inc.
Under the agreement, Zentaris will promote APIFINY to designated medical professionals in 20 American territories, and receive a commission for each test that results from its promotion, the company says in its press release.
APIFINY is the a cancer-specific, non-PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test specifically designed to assist clinicians in assessing prostate cancer risks. The technology evaluates the body’s immune response to cancer and is grounded on the measurement of eight prostate cancer-specific autoantibodies in human serum. The immune system specifically produces and amplifies these autoantibodies in the presence of prostate cancer cells. Due to this amplification, and because they are stable, these autoantibodies are easy to detect, particularly in the small tumors of early stage cancer.
APIFINY is indicated for men who have an elevated PSA, greater than 2.5 ng/ml and are considering a prostate biopsy.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in the U.S. (skin cancer is first), and the American Cancer Society estimates that 220,800 new cases were diagnosed in 2015, of which 60 percent were in men age 65 or older.
“We believe APIFINY represents an important addition to clinical information for patients and their clinicians pertaining to the risk assessment for prostate cancer,”Jude Dinges, Aeterna Zentaris’ senior vice president and chief commercial officer, said in the release.
Aeterna Zentaris is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for oncology, endocrinology, and women’s health. Currently the company is conducting Phase 3 studies of two proprietary compounds. Armune BioScience is a medical diagnostics company developing proprietary technology with exclusive licensing from the University of Michigan for cancer diagnostic and prognostic tests.