sphingotec reveals novel results on bioactive adrenomedullin for diagnosis and therapy monitoring of septic shock at the 39th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM)
sphingotec reveals novel results on bioactive adrenomedullin for diagnosis and therapy monitoring of septic shock at the 39th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM)
- Data from more than 20,000 patients show that bio-ADM® adds value to clinical decision-making at ICUs and EDs because it is the only biomarker that allows early prediction of septic shock
- bio-ADM® allows starting life-saving interventions such as early
- administration of vasopressors which will benefit about 20% of sepsis patients
- bioADM® is used for patient selection in an ongoing phase II trial with therapeutic antibody Adrecizumab
- bio-ADM® POC test for rapid decision-making at ICUs and EDs will be launched by H1/2019
HENNIGSDORF, GERMANY - March 19, 2019
- Diagnostics company SphingoTec GmbH reports novel applications of bio-ADM® (bio-active adrenomedullin), the very first biomarker capable to diagnose the onset of septic shock, allowing physicians earliest life-saving therapeutic interventions in sepsis critical care. At the 39th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM, 19–22 March, 2019, Brussels), Prof Peter Pickkers (Radbound umc Nijmegen, The Netherlands) will report that bio-ADM® is used to select patients at high risk for septic shock for treatment with the antibody Adrecizumab (Adrenomed AG, Hennigsdorf, Germany), which is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase II study on patients with early septic shock.
bio-ADM® is the only biomarker capable of diagnosing endothelial dysfunction, which has been demonstrated to precede the life-threatening blood pressure break down that causes multi-organ failure, shock and death of sepsis patients at intensive care units (ICUs) and in emergency departments (EDs). In studies on more than 20,000 patients, high bio-ADM® plasma levels (>70pg/ml) have been shown to predict the onset of septic shock, 28-day mortality and vasopressor demand independently of co-morbidities or inflammation. Without bio-ADM® testing, norepinephrine administration is initiated about 3.1 ± 2.5 hours after the onset of septic shock [1]. Every 1-hour of treatment delay is associated with a 5.3% increase in mortality. Early identification of patients running into shock will thereby statistically benefit one out of five septic shock patients (20%). As decreasing bio-ADM® levels have been linked to improved outcomes in clinical testing and pilot routine testing, bio-ADM® not only supports early clinical decision making but also monitoring of response to therapeutic intervention.
According to Pickkers, the further utility of bio-ADM® testing is provided by the selection of high-risk patients in clinical trials. Lack of stratification out of the highly heterogeneous sepsis population has been a major cause of failure in more than 60 late-stage trials with potential sepsis therapeutics in the past 20 years. Adrenomed AG is developing an antibody that leads to enrichment of bio-ADM® in the vessel lumen, where the vasoactive peptide hormone restores vascular integrity.
“It’s a great advantage that we are able to improve patient enrichment using sphingotest® bio-ADM® in order to demonstrate the efficacy of Adrecizumab”, commented Dr. Andreas Bergmann founder of both, sphingotec and Adrenomed, and CEO of sphingotec. “However, we should be aware that the diagnostic utility of bio-ADM® goes far beyond patient enrichment, as a single bio-ADM® measurement can exclude or diagnose endothelial dysfunction and thus assist critical care specialists to save lives in patients who most urgently need rapid therapeutic intervention.” Dr.Bergmann is the co-founder of BRAHMS/ThermoFisher Scientific and co-inventor of procalcitonin, a sepsis diagnostic with an annual turnover of $600m. He is currently working to establish fully automated blood POC testing of bio-ADM® as well as establishing an innovative critical care biomarkers on the Nexus IB 10 platform, by summer 2019.
[1] Xiaowu Bai et al., Early vs delayed administration of epinephrine in patients
with septic shock. Critical Care 18: 532
About SphingoTec GmbH:
SphingoTec GmbH (Hennigsdorf, Germany) is developing and marketing innovative biomarkers such as penKid® and bioADM® for prediction, diagnosis and therapy monitoring of AKI, congestive heart failure and septic shock, as well as the Nexus IB10 POC testing immunoassay platform acquired from Samsung-subsidiary Nexus Dx Inc. in May 2018. The company, founded by Dr. Andreas Bergmann in 2002, is additionally developing a pipeline of novel biomarkers which can predict the risks of obesity, breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
About bio-ADM®:
As a marker of vascular integrity, bio-ADM® enables both predictions of circulatory shock 48 h before blood pressure breakdown, e.g. in septic patients, and diagnosis of diuretic-resistant congestion in acute heart failure patients.
• PenKid surpasses serum creatinine on Day 1 post-transplant in detecting delayed graft function (DGF), with an AUROC of 0.87 versus 0.56 for creatinine. • PenKid differentiates slow graft function (SGF) from DGF up to 8 days earlier than current methods, supporting more timely clinical decisions. • PenKid levels remain unaffected by kidney replacement therapy (KRT), allowing for more accurate assessment of kidney function. • Independent validation in transplant cohort from Australia confirms performance and broad applicability. Hennigsdorf/Berlin, Germany, July 1, 2025 - Diagnostic company SphingoTec GmbH (“SphingoTec”) announces a landmark study (1) published in Transplant International, led by Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany in collaboration with researchers from Sydney, Australia, which identifies Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid) as a reliable biomarker for early and precise assessment of graft function trajectories following kidney transplantation. The research demonstrates that PenKid not only identifies patients at risk for DGF significantly earlier than traditional markers but also distinguishes between slow and delayed graft function with remarkable accuracy, offering clinicians a valuable new tool for patient management. The study prospectively evaluated 159 consecutive kidney transplant recipients at Heidelberg University Hospital and validated findings in an independent cohort from Sydney. PenKid consistently outperformed serum creatinine (SCr) in predicting graft function trajectories, particularly in the critical early post-transplant period. Notably, PenKid’s ability to remain unaffected by KRT—a treatment for severe kidney dysfunction—further sets it apart from SCr, which can be influenced by non-renal factors and KRT itself, thereby enhancing the reliability of graft function assessment. Multivariate analysis confirmed PenKid as the strongest independent predictor of both short-term graft function and 30-day outcomes, underscoring its clinical utility for early risk stratification. The biomarker’s superior granularity allows for nuanced classification of DGF severity, supporting more informed decisions regarding the initiation of dialysis or biopsy and offering potential for individualized patient care. With these findings, penKid steps forward as a practical addition to the transplant clinician’s toolkit, promising to sharpen decision-making for optimal outcomes. Its adoption could help transplant teams act with greater confidence and precision, ultimately strengthening the standard of care in kidney transplantation. ## References 1. Benning L et al. (2025) Proenkephalin A 119-159 in Kidney Transplantation: A Novel Biomarker for Superior Tracking of Graft Function Trajectories. Transpl. Int. 38:14366. doi: 10.3389/ti.2025.14366 About SphingoTec SphingoTec GmbH ("SphingoTec"; Hennigsdorf near Berlin, Germany) is a biomarker company focusing on the out-licensing of innovative critical care solutions for diagnosing, predicting, and monitoring acute medical conditions. SphingoTec develops its biomarkers to the commercial stage and partners with IVD companies to make them available on different IVD platforms. SphingoTec's proprietary biomarker portfolio includes Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a biomarker for the assessment of kidney function in critical diseases, commercially available on diagnostic platforms AFIAS and Nexus IB10 and bioactive Adrenomedullin 1-52 (bio-ADM), a biomarker for the assessment of endothelial function in conditions like sepsis. Discover more on www.sphingotec.com Contact : Ruxandra Lenz Marketing and Communication SphingoTec GmbH Phone +49-3302-20565-0 Email: press@sphingotec.com
• Boditech Med and SphingoTec announce the launch of the AFIAS sphingotest® penKid® assay, a diagnostic tool designed to aid in kidney function assessment for critically ill patients. • The IVDR-marked assay provides quantitative measurements of Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), supporting clinical decision-making in acute and critical care. • This launch follows a licensing agreement granting Boditech the rights to develop and commercialize penKid-based assays, as well as a market development agreement between the two companies. Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea, and Hennigsdorf/Berlin, Germany, May 6, 2025 - Boditech Med Inc. (“Boditech”) and SphingoTec GmbH (“SphingoTec”) today announced the commercial launch of the AFIAS sphingotest® penKid® assay. The assay is designed to provide clinicians with a tool for assessing kidney function in critically ill patients by measuring Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a biomarker that reflects real-time kidney function independently of inflammation or comorbidities. The AFIAS sphingotest® penKid® assay is IVDR-marked for its intended use as an automated fluorescence immunoassay for the in vitro diagnostic quantitative determination of Proenkephalin A 119-159 in human whole blood/plasma, serving as an aid in the diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in adult patients with sepsis or septic shock. It provides additional information to support clinical decision-making in managing critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). This launch is the result of a strategic collaboration between Boditech and SphingoTec, including a licensing agreement granting Boditech the rights to develop and commercialize penKid-based assays on its diagnostic platforms, as well as a market development agreement aimed at accelerating global commercialization efforts. Eui-Yul Choi, CEO of Boditech Med, commented: “We are proud to introduce the AFIAS sphingotest® penKid® assay to clinicians worldwide. This launch reflects our commitment to delivering innovative diagnostic solutions that address critical needs in healthcare. Our collaboration with SphingoTec has been instrumental in bringing this important tool to market.” Deborah Bergmann, CEO of SphingoTec, added: “The launch of AFIAS sphingotest® penKid® demonstrates how partnerships can drive innovation and improve access to advanced diagnostics. By combining our biomarker expertise with Boditech’s diagnostic capabilities, we are reaching a new chapter in our collaboration. We are streamlining our processes to support the business of our license partners and further expand our global reach. This enables us to provide clinicians with essential tools to enhance patient care.” Scientific insights on penKid PenKid is a biomarker that enables real-time assessment of kidney function (1). Unlike traditional markers such as serum creatinine, penKid levels are not influenced by inflammation or other confounding factors like age or sex (1,2,3). Studies have shown that penKid allows earlier detection of acute kidney injury (AKI), predicting changes in serum creatinine up to 48 hours before conventional diagnostic criteria are met (1,3). This early detection capability is particularly valuable in critically ill patients, including those with sepsis or septic shock (1,3,4). Additionally, penKid has shown potential for monitoring renal recovery under dialysis and could help predict successful weaning from renal replacement therapy (5,6). ## References 1. Hollinger A, et.al. Proenkephalin A 119-159 (Penkid) Is an Early Biomarker of Septic Acute Kidney Injury: The Kidney in Sepsis and Septic Shock (Kid-SSS) Study. Kidney Int Rep. 2018 Aug 22;3(6):1424-1433. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2018.08.006. 2. Beunders et al. Assessing GFR With Proenkephalin, Kidney International Reports, 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ekir.2023.08.006 3. Caironi et al., Circulating proenkephalin, acute kidney injury, and its improvement in patients with severe sepsis or shock. Clin Chem (2018) DOI:10.1373/clinchem.2018.288068 4. Moledina DG. Penkid: A Novel Biomarker of Reduced GFR in Sepsis. Kidney Int Rep. 2018 Nov 15;4(1):17-19. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2018.11.002. 5. von Groote T et al. Proenkephalin A 119–159 predicts early and successful liberation from renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury: a post hoc analysis of the ELAIN trial. Crit Care 26, 333 (2022). doi.org/10.1186/s13054-022-04217-4 6. von Groote T, et al. Evaluation of Proenkephalin A 119-159 for liberation from renal replacement therapy: an external, multicenter pilot study in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury. Crit Care. 2023 Jul 10;27(1):276. doi: 10.1186/s13054-023-04556-w. About Boditech Boditech Med (based in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea) is a leading company in the field of point-of-care diagnostics, which has accumulated 25 years of business expertise in the field. The company has more than 80 types of in vitro diagnostic products that detect biomarkers related to infectious diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and hormone-related diseases with its immunofluorescence lateral flow technology, quantitative immunofluorescence technology and spectrophotometric technology. And the list continues to grow with new high-value-added products. With its instrument platform installed in more than 120 countries, the company also has a stable revenue model. The company is currently strengthening its value as a global company by expanding its manufacturing bases in the US, China, India, and Indonesia. About SphingoTec SphingoTec GmbH ("SphingoTec"; Hennigsdorf near Berlin, Germany) is a diagnostic company focusing on the out-licensing of innovative critical care biomarkers for diagnosing, predicting, and monitoring acute medical conditions. SphingoTec develops its biomarkers to the commercial stage and partners with IVD companies to make them available on different IVD platforms. SphingoTec's proprietary biomarker portfolio includes Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a biomarker for the assessment of kidney function in critical diseases, commercially available on diagnostic platforms AFIAS and Nexus IB10 and bioactive Adrenomedullin 1-52 (bio-ADM), a biomarker for the assessment of endothelial function in conditions like sepsis. Discover more on www.sphingotec.com Contact: Ruxandra Lenz Head of Marketing and Communication SphingoTec GmbH Phone +49-3302-20565-0 Email: press@sphingotec.com