Siemens, California Health Network and Biopharm Research Company Partner for Enhanced Liver Fibrosis Testing

Although COVID-19 remains the driving force, non-pandemic-related strategic deal making continues. Among the most impactful deals announced in December is the partnership among Renown Institute for Health (IHI), Siemens Healthineers and Gilead Sciences to offer the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) Test to individuals at risk for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

The ELF Test Project

Siemens’ ELF Test, which is available in the U.S. via the Erlangen, Germany-based company’s CLIA-certified Siemens Healthcare Laboratory, is a non-invasive blood test capable of quickly identifying patients who are at an elevated risk for developing cirrhosis and other liver-related clinical events. Unlike standard liver enzyme tests that detect liver damage after it has already occurred, the ELF Test make algorithm measurements of three serum-based biomarkers of active fibrosis to create a score assessing the risk for future disease progression and evaluation of whether a patient requires increased medical care and monitoring, according to IHI.

The plan is to offer the ELF Test to individuals at risk of NASH participating in a large genetic population health study called the Healthy Nevada Project. The expectation is that testing will be done on more than 30,000 participants over the next two years. The partners didn’t disclose the financial and other terms of the collaboration.

The new collaboration to make the ELF Test available for the Healthy Nevada Projects builds on an existing partnership between Renown IHI, an integrated health network serving Nevada and northeast California, and Gilead, a research-based biopharmaceutical company based in California, that began in July 2019. According to IHI, the organizations have been working together to collect and analyze de-identified genetic and electronic health data from 60,000 qualifying study participants to enhance the understanding of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and NASH with the hopes of informing the development of treatment options for these diseases.

Here’s a summary of other key strategic diagnostic deals announced in December 2020:

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES, PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

DISTRIBUTION, SALES & MARKETING AGREEMENTS

LICENSES

SUPPLY, SERVICE, TESTING & MANUFACTURING AGREEMENTS