SenzaGen has signed a global licensing agreement with contract research organization Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing Munich (Eurofins BPT Munich) to market the GARD allergy test to its clients.

The value of the agreement was not disclosed.

GARD is a genome-based test designed to assess whether chemical substances are at risk of causing allergies in humans. Eurofins BPT Munich will immediately include GARDskin and the add-on test GARDpotency as a leading diagnostic tool among its chemical safety testing services to clients in the cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries worldwide. 

GARDskin is a genomic test measuring changes in gene expression of 200 genes relevant to the skin sensitization adverse outcome pathways (AOP). According to SenzaGen, GARDskin is designed to satisfy growing demand in the cosmetics, chemicals, and pharmaceutical industries for reliable, animal-free testing methods to assess the allergy-inducing properties of chemical substances.

GARDskin is in the process of obtaining regulatory approval and inclusion in international test guidelines, SenzaGen said.

GARDpotency is designed to subcategorize sensitizers according to E.U. Classification, Labelling and Packaging/Globally Harmonised System classifications, by monitoring the expression of 52 complementary genomic biomarkers.

Eurofins BPT Munich—which has the largest network of harmonized bio/pharmaceutical GMP/GLP product testing laboratories worldwide with 30 facilities—was part of the successful ring trial in the validation of GARDskin, completed last fall.

“This new license agreement with such a major and strong partner provides an important stepping stone in the global marketing of GARD and it is also a hallmark of the high quality and relevance of GARD,” SenzaGen's CEO Anki Malmborg Hager said Friday in a statement.

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