Michigan based veterinary pharmaceutical and diagnostic company, Zomedica Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has entered into a license and supply agreement with Celsee, Inc.

Celsee Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets integrated nanotechnology platforms for automated label-free isolation, analysis and retrieval of viable rare cells direct from blood.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zomedica will have animal health exclusive global rights to develop and market Celsee’s liquid biopsy platform for use by veterinarians as a cancer diagnostic.

Gerald Solensky, Jr., Chief Executive Officer at Zomedica said, “Liquid biopsy is cutting-edge technology in human medicine right now and we’re excited about the opportunity to develop and market this platform for use in veterinary medicine. We selected the Celsee platform because of the ease of use, workflow simplicity, and flexibility to use our novel canine biomarkers. If we successfully develop Celsee’s technology, we believe we will be able to provide veterinarians with a best-in-class product they deserve when caring for their patients.”

Kalyan Handique, President at Celsee said, “Our automated sample-to-result liquid biopsy platform not only exceeds current efficiency standards but also reduces the complexity involved in the capture and counting of circulating tumor cells. This agreement means we can continue to validate our technology and substantiate its value for use in prognosis and therapeutic decision making in additional species.”

Using Celsee’s liquid biopsy platform, Zomedica intends to develop and market ZM-017, a non-invasive diagnostic assay or blood test that helps veterinarians diagnose cancer in canines.

If the development of ZM-017 is successful, Zomedica expects that ZM-017 will provide veterinarians with a faster, more affordable, and less invasive test for cancer in canines compared to existing methods, which can be expensive and cost prohibitive for pet owners.

Zomedica estimates the out-of-pocket cost incurred by pet owners for ZM-017 will be less expensive compared to current testing methods, which can cost thousands of dollars depending on the presentation and type of suspected cancer.

The agreement with Celsee covers the development and commercialization of liquid biopsy assays and related consumable for the detection of cancer in companion animals. The parties will initially focus on the development of a liquid biopsy for use in canines.

Zomedica will be responsible for the clinical development and commercialization of the assays. Celsee will supply Zomedica on an exclusive basis with the assays and the consumables for the products to be developed under the agreement pursuant to a rolling forecast to be provided by Zomedica at prices specified in the agreement.

Zomedica will be responsible for the marketing and sale of the assays and the related consumables. The agreement, which is exclusive in the field of veterinary cancer diagnostic applications, has a term of seven years (subject to termination in certain circumstances) and automatically renews for additional one-year terms thereafter.

The company has agreed to pay Celsee up-front fees of $500,000 and to issue to Celsee unregistered common shares having a value of $250,000 consisting of an aggregate of 112,314 common shares to be issued at an ascribed price of $2.2259, subject to receipt of TSX-V approval.