In the mood for some NICE advice? Here goes: The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a MedTech Innovation Briefing on PromarkerD, i.e. a predictive blood test determining diabetes kidney disease (DKD).

The Briefing, dubbed NICE advice, reports that PromarkerD is effective at predicting renal function decline in people with type 2 diabetes. 

This is a prestigious moment for Perth-based medical tech company Proteomics International (ASX: PIQ), the parent company of PromarkerD. NICE advice is a super popular and selective publication in the UK. It has a rigorous selection process that accounts for the potential benefits of a technology, its regulatory status, clinical evidence and more. This year, only 29 Medtech Innovation Briefings have been published, and PromarkerD is one of them. 

Proteomics International Managing Director, Dr Richard Lipscombe, commented, “Selection of the test as an innovative technology worthy of NICE advice is an important step towards [the] future recommendation for clinical use of PromarkerD in the UK.”

NICE is an independent organisation established by the UK Government to provide national guidance and advice on medical treatments. These briefings, commissioned by the NHS (National Health Service), are basically documents geared towards assisting the UK’s healthcare workers, patients and clinicians. They also create awareness of new technologies for planning and commissioning new innovations in the UK healthcare industry.  

Lipscombe detailed, “The Medtech Innovation Briefing provides objective information to help doctors make the best clinical decisions for their patients. The NICE advice supports the reimbursement process and broader adoption of PromarkerD in the UK, and its publication enables us to pursue inclusion of PromarkerD in the NICE Guidelines and to engage with the NHS Supply Chain Tender process.”

Over four million adults in the UK live with diabetes and an additional 3 million with pre-diabetes. The country is a significant market opportunity for PromarkerD. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a serious complication arising from diabetes which if unchecked can lead to dialysis or kidney transplant. PromarkerD is a prognostic test that can predict future kidney function decline in patients with type 2 diabetes and no existing DKD. The test is already registered for use with the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Upon assessing PromarkerD, independent experts appointed by NICE found that the technology is novel and is expected to be used in addition to standard care tests. PromarkerD may allow for the early identification of high-risk patients, thus altering and hopefully improving their treatment course. Ultimately, this could lead to a decrease in the number of people developing end-stage renal disease, reducing hospitalisation and the need for dialysis. 

By securing a spot in the Medtech Briefings, Proteomics gains credibility that can help it reach a vast array of healthcare practitioners. Given that these briefings are referred by the broader healthcare industry in the country, it will allow for networking with private healthcare providers beyond the NHS. 

At the time of writing, NICE has withdrawn the briefing to correct factual errors in the text.