Archer Materials (ASX: AXE) has signed an agreement with Canadian medical device company Hylid Diagnostics to develop a potassium measurement product for at-home testing of chronic kidney disease.

The partnership will combine Archer’s Biochip potassium-sensing technology with Hylid’s blood haemolysis sensor technology to develop a prototype at-home testing device that meets stringent accuracy requirements for blood-potassium measurements.

Following testing of the prototype, the partners will focus on the design and manufacture of an integrated cartridge system suitable for early-stage clinical testing and volume production.

Biosensor device

Archer chief executive officer Simon Ruffell said the agreement would complement the company’s current priorities.

“Hylid staff have significant industry experience in sensing, diagnostics, design and manufacturing and they are well-connected in some of our key markets,” he said.

“We look forward to working with them to create effective at-home testing of chronic kidney disease for improved patient outcomes.”

Engineering teams from both companies will deep-dive into the technical specifications and create a detailed work plan for the coming months.

Affordable at-home testing

Hylid specialises in the development of novel optical sensors to bring affordable, lab-quality blood testing to the home.

The company’s first focus area is the management of chronic kidney disease in North American and European markets.

Hylid has advisers based in the US, Canada and the UK to assist with regulatory processes with relevant agencies and the establishment of clinical trials.

Human blood samples

Archer announced in February that it would move towards development and optimisation of its Biochip potassium-sensing device using human blood samples in an effort to ensure that potassium test results do not vary significantly between graphene field-effect transistors (gFETs) on the same chip.

While all of Archer’s Biochip testing to date has involved mock blood samples, Mr Ruffell said the company was ready to transition to working on human samples—a major step towards early-stage clinical trials.

“Over the past months, our team has done a great job in reducing the variability between gFETs on the same chip [and] we are now looking towards testing human blood samples and integrating those results into a prototype cartridge system before we engage in clinical trials.”