AbSorber’s transplantation crossmatch test strong predicator for acute rejections – study published in prestigious international medical journal

AbSorber, a LinkMed portfolio company, got its transplantation crossmatch test XM-ONE® evaluated in a large clinical study and the results are now published in the prestigious international medical journal Transplantation. The study shows that XM-ONE® contributes valuable information that refines the diagnostics for finding the right organ for the right patient, thereby increasing the probability of a successful transplantation. Four U.S. and two Swedish well-reputed hospitals participated in the multicenter trial.

“The study demonstrates and confirms an increased frequency of rejection episodes in patients who test positive with XM-ONE, even in cases where conventional lymphocyte cross-match tests are unsuccessful in detecting donor-specific antibodies,” said Professor Andrea Zachary at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. The test was clinically evaluated in the study by the centre over a two year period.

“Results show that we now, with XM-ONE, can easily get access to donor cells that allow detection of non-HLA antibodies. This in turn, improves donor-recipient pairing and kidney transplantation outcome,” adds Professor Andrea Zachary.

The publication of the study is an important breakthrough for XM-ONE®. In August, AbSorber received FDA approval to market and sell the company’s patented transplantation test XM -ONE® in the U.S. The test is also CE-marked and approved for sales in the EU.

“Publication of the study in the journal Transplantation is extremely important for us since it provides a scientific knowledge base about and clinical acceptance of XM-ONE as support when we talk to the transplantation centers. We are currently launching XM-ONE in the U.S. and the study gives us a strong foundation to build up on. 46% of the patients that were tested positive with XM-ONE got an acute rejection within three (3) weeks after transplantation. Currently the test is introduced to 20 larger transplantation centers in the U.S. and about the same number of centers in Europe”, says AbSorber CEO, Anders Karlsson.

Publication of the study in Transplantation is important as the journal is one of the largest and most influential publications within the transplantation society worldwide – the publication that everyone in this filed reads.

Six prominent transplantation centers in the U.S. and Sweden participated in the clinical trial. These are:
• Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore
• Ohio State University in Columbus
• Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
• Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas
• Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge.

From June 2005 to October 2006, a total of 195 patients were screened of which 147 patients met the inclusion criteria and were therewith evaluated in the XM-ONE® clinical trial. Blood samples from the patients were tested using XM-ONE®.

XM-ONE® is unique in that it is the first standardized test that can detect antibodies against the cells that line the inside of blood vessels. These endothelial cells are the first point of contact between the transplanted organ and the recipient’s immune system. Anti-endothelial cell antibodies have been shown to play a key role in causing post-transplantation rejections. The study has awakened great scientific interest and several other transplantation centers are interested in conducting their own independent trials with XM-ONE®.

“XM-ONE provides key, previously unattainable, information about donor-recipient compatibility that increases the probability of a successful transplantation. XM-ONE opens up completely new possibilities for detecting antibodies that we previously were unable to identify," said associate Professor Jan Holgersson, doctor and researcher at the Karolinska University Hospital and one of the founders of AbSorber.

AbSorber develops products that facilitate more successful transplantations. AbSorber’s first product, the transplantation test XM-ONE® detects key antibodies responsible for post-transplantation rejection reactions. XM-ONE is already CE marked and FDA approved for sales in the EU and U.S.

LinkMed owns 42 percent of AbSorber.

For more information contact:
Anders Karlsson, CEO AbSorber, tel. + 46 70 918 00 10
Ingemar Lagerlöf, CEO LinkMed, tel. +46 8 508 939 93
Jan Holgersson, Karolinska University Hospital, tel. +46 8 585 81384

Also visit www.absorber.se and www.linkmed.se