BIO-TECHNE AND NOVOMOL-Dx ANNOUNCE POINT-OF-CARE OCULAR BIOMARKER ASSAY

MINNEAPOLIS, April 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) and Novomol-Dx, a molecular diagnostics company, are pleased to announce the development of Bio-Marker Pathfinder (BMP), a first of its kind ocular biomarker kit, as a point-of-care application. Novomol-Dx is a molecular diagnostics company focused on commercializing tests for the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic diseases utilizing biomarkers discovered over the last decade at Narayana Nethralaya Foundation, in association with Grow Laboratories & Narayana Nethralaya, a specialty eye care hospital chain in Bangalore India.

The BMP kit runs on Bio-Techne's Ella™, a benchtop automated immunoassay platform leveraging Bio-Techne's R&D Systems branded reagents to deliver accurate, reliable, and highly reproducible data in less than 90 minutes. Ella's microfluidic-based cartridges with separate channels enable precision multiplexing in a hands-free system, making it ideal for diagnostic clinical use. Novomol-Dx relied on a proprietary algorithm to develop the normative data, disease-associated data, and AI-based predictive algorithms for ocular surface and retinal conditions. The complete solution is branded as BioM-Pathfinder. The novel applications for the BMP kit are in Dry Eye Disease, Diabetic Retinopathy and patient stratification or monitoring associated with ocular surgeries and treatments. 

"The BMP kit's ability to produce clinically actionable data using tear samples is a game-changer for the diagnosis of these conditions. This kit fills a significant unmet need, with an estimated 15 million suffering from various ophthalmic diseases in India. Beyond ocular applications, we believe the underlying technology is potentially relevant for disease-associated diagnostic or prognostic applications in the future," stated Dr. Rohit Shetty, Chairman at Narayana Nethralaya.

"There is a great need for improved ocular diagnostic tools, and the BMP kit will save time by enabling an accurate diagnostic solution to the millions impacted by ophthalmic diseases," said Dr. Naren Shetty, Vice-Chairman of Narayana Nethralaya.

"The BMP multi-analyte kit holds great promise for the potential use of Ella in proteomic diagnostic applications," commented Will Geist, President of Bio-Techne's Protein Sciences Segment. "We are happy to partner with this leading ocular biomarker research group and eye care institute to deliver a much-needed diagnostic tool for patients impacted by these diseases."

"We are excited to be able to translate the years of biomarker research in eye diseases to an application that can benefit clinicians and patients," said Dr. Arkasubhra Ghosh, Director of GROW research labs at Narayana Nethralaya Foundation. "The multiple biomarker diagnostic design establishes a platform for future expansion to broader disease applications across ophthalmic conditions, potentially including a non-invasive tear-based diagnosis for systemic conditions."

About Bio-Techne

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne products assist scientific investigations into biological processes and the nature and progress of specific diseases. They aid in drug discovery efforts and provide the means for accurate clinical tests and diagnoses. With thousands of products in its portfolio, Bio-Techne generated over $1.1 billion in net sales in fiscal 2023 and has approximately 3,100 employees worldwide. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit http://www.bio-techne.com or follow the Company on social media at Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

About Novomol-Dx
Novomol-Dx is a start-up collaborative initiative of Narayana Nethralaya Foundation to bring out the solutions researched at their Grow Laboratories to the local India and international markets. Narayana Nethralaya group of hospitals are one of the best hospitals in India known for their quality care. Novomol-Dx is formed by a team of expert professionals with huge years of experience in the related field and have been associated with setting up successful multinational ventures. For more details about Novomol-DX, please visit http://www.novomoldx.com.

About Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH)
Contact: David Clair, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Development
[email protected]
612-656-4416

SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation