Revvity and Sanofi Partner on Early Type 1 Diabetes Detection; Kihealth Secures Funding for Diabetes Test

Significant developments in diabetes screening and detection have emerged this week, with major pharmaceutical companies and startups alike making strides in early diagnosis technologies.

Revvity and Sanofi Collaborate on Innovative Type 1 Diabetes Screening Test

Revvity, the Massachusetts-based diagnostics company, has announced a collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to develop a cutting-edge screening test for early-stage Type 1 diabetes. The partnership aims to improve patient outcomes by enabling earlier intervention in the disease's progression.

The proposed test will be a four-plex in vitro diagnostic assay, designed to detect four autoantibodies indicative of early-stage Type 1 diabetes. This new test will build upon Revvity's existing three-plex assay, which is currently limited to research use only. The diagnostic will be compatible with both dried blood spot and venous blood specimens, enhancing its versatility in clinical settings.

Shirley Gil Parrado, Sanofi's global head of autoimmune Type 1 diabetes, emphasized the potential impact of the collaboration, stating, "The expansion of autoantibody testing to commercial platforms such as Revvity GSP may accelerate the transition to a new clinical standard of care where people with [Type 1 diabetes] are diagnosed as early as possible."

The partnership will focus on supporting clinical validation and regulatory submissions for the new assay on Revvity's GSP instrument. The companies plan to pursue regulatory approvals in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions, signaling a global approach to diabetes screening advancement.

Kihealth Raises $5 Million for Beta Cell Death Biomarker Test

In related news, Kihealth, a startup in the diabetes diagnostics space, has successfully closed a $5 million seed funding round. The investment will support the commercial rollout of the company's first lab-developed test, which measures biomarkers of beta cell death—an early indicator of insulin resistance and diabetes.

Kihealth's innovative test utilizes a simple blood draw to assess pancreatic beta cell viability. This approach allows for the identification of high-risk individuals before abnormalities in glucose levels or A1c become apparent, potentially revolutionizing early diabetes detection and prevention strategies.

The successful funding round underscores growing investor interest in novel diabetes diagnostic technologies and highlights the potential market demand for early detection tools in the management of metabolic disorders.