Sphingotec launches penKid kidney function blood test

2020 01 16 18 27 4229 Kidney 400

German IVD developer Sphingotec is making its penKid point-of-care (POC) biomarker blood test for evaluating kidney function available at the end of this month in countries that recognize the CE Mark.

The test was developed for the company's Nexus IB10 POC platform, which screens whole blood samples and delivers results within 20 minutes, according to Sphingotec. The test measures the level of the proenkephalin biomarker; elevated levels on penKid signify kidney damage and the risk of developing acute kidney injury.

The company is positioning the assay as a fast way to identify subclinical risk in critically ill patients at the point of care in intensive care units and emergency departments. In combination with serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) tests, the results correlated with outcomes in a study of 588 emergency department patients with sepsis, Sphingotec reported last month.