Bristol-Myers Squibb and Nordic Bioscience, a Danish company specializing in biomarker technologies, announced a collaboration agreement to develop biomarker technology to potentially aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of fibrotic diseases including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Nordic Bioscience has over 25 years’ experience in biomarker development and clinical trials with extensive expertise in rheumatology and fibrosis. A biomarker is a molecule that may be used to diagnose a disease, or predict disease progression and indicate response to therapy.

“Addressing the significant need for better diagnostic and monitoring tools in fibrotic diseases is a key element of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s fibrosis strategy to help patients suffering from these debilitating conditions,” said Mike Burgess, head of Cardiovascular, Fibrosis and Immunoscience Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We continue to invest in innovative approaches to develop more precise methods to diagnose disease and monitor progression and we are pleased to partner with Nordic Bioscience and leverage their vast experience in biomarker development.”

“There is a big unmet need in medical and drug development for simple non-invasive diagnostic, early proof of efficacy of intervention and prognostic biomarkers in the NASH field. Nordic Bioscience is very proud to enter into this collaboration which will benefit the fibrosis field by advancing the research in fibrosis biomarkers for the benefit of patients,” said Morten Karsdal, CEO of Nordic Bioscience.

Nordic Bioscience is a leader in the measurement, development and validation of assays for collagens, elastins and laminins as biomarkers of extracellular matrix (ECM) activity. The company invented C-terminal telopeptide (CTX), a biomarker that non-invasively identifies osteoporosis patients with a high rate of bone loss and can be used to assess response to osteoporosis therapy.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Nordic Bioscience will collaborate in the development of translational biomarkers and diagnostics for the evaluation of NASH in pre-clinical models of fibrotic diseases and in clinical settings.