Sebia and Abingdon Health Sign Exclusive Global Distribution Agreement

Sebia, a developer of medical diagnostics by electrophoresis, and Abingdon Health, an in-vitro diagnostic group, have entered into a multi-year, exclusive, global distribution agreement. The deal allows Sebia to add Abingdon Health Ltd.’s Seralite-FLC Dual Kappa and Lambda serum lateral flow immunoassay to its worldwide offering. Financial terms of the deal were not been disclosed.
 
Seralite-FLC is the most recent generation of rapid, smart and easily-operated test for the quantitative measurement of free kappa and free lambda light chains in blood. Serum free light chain (sFLC) testing is prescribed to help detect, diagnose and monitor plasma cell disorders (dyscrasias) such as multiple myeloma, and to monitor the effectiveness of treatments. The test is aimed at clinical laboratories with a small to medium-sized workload for sFLC test requests as well as at clinical laboratories sending requests to referral laboratories, which might result, in some countries, in delays in receiving patients’ results. It brings superior analytical performance along with cost effectiveness and flexibility.
 
The agreement with Abingdon Health will enable Sebia to provide a comprehensive offering for the diagnosis and monitoring of multiple myeloma and associated conditions, addressing the emerging demand from clinical labs for improving responsiveness in their daily routine and in patient care.

“Since its creation in 1967 Sebia has had a strong focus on myeloma. Its leadership position in this field comes from a continuous flow of innovation to help laboratories in their daily activities diagnosing and monitoring this pathology,” said Benoit Adelus, Sebia’s chairman and CEO. “The partnership with Abingdon Health will give the opportunity for small to mid size labs around the world to perform the FLC test, on a high quality, simple device.”
 
The Seralite— FLC assay was initially developed via a joint venture with Abingdon Health Ltd and the University of Birmingham. Commercial availability of this quality product is the result of a combination of scientific and clinical expertise at Birmingham University together with Abingdon Health’s product development and manufacturing expertise. The University of Birmingham has been involved in a large number of scientific publications on serum free light chain measurement over the past decade. It has recently submitted several articles on Seralite-FLC. The partnership with Sebia will improve patient’s access, on a global scale, to Seralite-FLC.
 
“We are delighted to partner with Sebia in the global distribution of Serum Seralite-FLC. Sebia’s global reach and market leadership in the provision of electrophoresis testing makes it the perfect partner to launch our new product worldwide,” said Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health. “We believe the combination of Abingdon Health and Sebia’s products provides customers with the complete solution for the testing of multiple myeloma [in serum].”
 
Sebia has captured 70 percent of the worldwide protein electrophoresis market. It has a network of specialized commercial and scientific organizations in 120 countries.
 
Over the next few months Sebia will supervise the global launch of Seralite-FLC across all of the company’s sales channels. The commercial team at Abingdon Health will also support this campaign. Sebia will distribute the  product worldwide, except in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.
 
Multiple myeloma is a type of bone marrow cancer, caused by malignant plasma cells. Myeloma cells divide and expand within the bone marrow, damaging the bones and affecting the production of healthy blood cells. Myeloma often affects many places in the body, such as the spine, skull, pelvis and ribs. Multiple myeloma is often difficult to diagnose as initially it only has a few or no symptoms. Blood and urine tests are the first steps towards an overall diagnosis. 
 
Sebia develops, manufactures and commercializes protein electrophoresis tests and analyzers dedicated to the in-vitro diagnosis of cancer, inflammatory diseases, diabetes and hemoglobin disorders. Sebia’s focus on electrophoresis techniques allows a sustained R&D program, providing access to genuine innovations in any lab. Both agarose gel and capillary assays, and their dedicated automation are designed to be integrated into the same routine workflow; for gel (Assist, Hydrasys 2 Scan) and for capillary electrophoresis (Capillarys 3, Capillarys 2, Minicap).
 
Abingdon Health Ltd. is a United Kingdom-based in-vitro diagnostic group focused on developing a range of rapid testing products in the area of hematology-oncology. The company launched its first rapid testing product in 2016, Seralite-FLC, the world’s first rapid diagnostic device in multiple myeloma. It is in the process of launching a range of complementary rapid tests. The company’s core expertise lies in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of rapid lateral flow immunoassay diagnostics and reader systems.