“There are 20 million children and adults living with diabetes in the US, and many of them are undiagnosed until they develop complications,” said Howard Birndorf, Nanogen chairman and CEO. “Combining genetic data about risk with early intervention strategies can have a significant impact on reducing disease incidence and severity, and we expect to see extensive demand for prognostic and diagnostic tests, as well as for new effective drugs.”
Complications arising from diabetes include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and nervous system damage, and constitute a large economic burden on healthcare systems. Global incidence of diabetes has been on the rise, in both developed and developing countries, and is projected to reach 220 million by 2010.
Through the current agreement, Nanogen will gain access to markers identified by Jurilab in genome-wide screens. Certain markers seem to be associated with predisposition to diabetes; others appear to protect against developing the disease.