Agenix gears up to trial blood clot tech

Brisbane biotech company Agenix (ASX:AGX) will begin safety and efficacy trials of its new Thromboview blood-clot imaging technology in healthy human volunteers early next year.

Agenix announced today it has appointed Q-Pharm, Queensland’s new Phase I clinical trial company, based at the Queensland Institute for Medical Research, to conduct the trial in conjunction with the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

Thromboview is Agenix’s candidate for the global market for a more effective way of locating and highlighting blood clots in major blood vessels.

So-called deep-vein thrombosis (DVT, also known as ‘economy class syndrome’ because it occurs in long-distance air travellers) is difficult to diagnose and treats because blood clots are transparent to X-rays. Clots in blood vessels can detach and migrate to the lungs causing a potentially lethal condition known as pulmonary embolism.

Undetected, untreated pulmonary embolism is the third leading cause of death from cardiovascular disease.

Agenix has developed a humanised monoclonal antibody that, when injected into the bloodstream, clings to a protein called D-dimer, produced only in blood clots. Linked to a short-lived radioisotope of technetium, the antibodies coating the clot’s surface make it visible to a gamma-ray imager.

Next year’s trial will determine the safety of ThromboView, and monitor the distribution of the compound in the body. A subsequent Phase I trial will test the compound in patients with DVT.