Boston's Athena Diagnostics to market Bionomics epilepsy test

South Australian biopharma Bionomics(ASX:BNO) announced today it has licensed Boston company Athena Diagnostics to market its test for severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) to neurologists in North America and Japan.

Athena Diagnostics is a specialist in gene diagnostics for neurological disorders. It plans to make the Bionomics test available to more than 5000 of its client neurologists later this year. Athena has 45 sales representatives in the US alone.

According to the company's ASX release, until now there has been no test that allows neurologists to distinguish between SMEI and less severe forms of childhood epilepsy.

Early diagnosis will reduce the costs associated with current non-DNA diagnostic procedures, and allow doctors to begin treating children earlier. As many as 240,000 children in the US alone are potential candidates for the test. Earlier diagnosis may reduce the high mortality rate - around 18 per cent - for SMEI, or grand mal epilepsy.

Under their agreement, Athena will pay Bionomics a sign-on fee, milestone payments as it achieves progressive sales targets, and royalties on total sales.

Bionomics' research collaborators Professor Sam Berkovic and Associate Professor Ingrid Scheffer, of Melbourne University, who were involved in validating the test, will support Athena's efforts to promote the test.