Bern: One-step diagnosis for Wilson’s disease

Development opportunity | Licensing opportunity

University of Bern researchers have developed a method that permits reliable, automatic, one-step diagnosis of Wilson’s disease, a genetic disorder of copper metabolism. This invention, the patent application for which is in preparation, is the first single test for Wilson’s disease.

Unitectra, the technology transfer company for the University of Bern and the University of Zurich, is seeking a development partner to finance further characterisation of the two markers used in the diagnostic test and the selection of specific monoclonal antibodies, in exchange for an option to license the technology.

Wilson’s disease, characterised by an inability of the body to dispose of excess copper, affects around 1 in 20 000 people worldwide. There is currently no single test for the disease, which is diagnosed through a combination of symptoms, laboratory testing and liver biopsy. It is thought that at least half of patients with Wilson’s disease are never diagnosed, and die from the disease.

The new technology – developed by Marc Solioz, Oliver Barré and Karl-Dimiter Bissig from the University of Bern – is based on chromatographic measurement of two markers in human blood. The method has been shown to have high selectivity for samples taken from patients with Wilson’s disease, compared with samples taken from healthy controls, or patients with liver cirrhosis.