Proteomics International Laboratories Ltd. has been granted a patent in Japan for the company's diagnostic and prognostic test for diabetic kidney disease, ‘PromarkerD’. Early detection and treatment of diabetic kidney disease is particularly important in Japan, where cultural, legal and religious concerns have seen the country shy away from organ transplantation. Proteomics International received confirmation last week that Japanese Patent number 2017-136403, titled ‘Biomarkers Associated with Pre-Diabetes, Diabetes and Diabetes Related Conditions’ was granted on the 21 December 2017 and will extend until 20 September 2031. Patent protection for the PromarkerD test has already been granted in Australia, China, Russia, Singapore, and USA, and with the addition of Japan covers a potential market size of 161 million adult diabetics. Patents are pending in Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, India, and Europe, which if granted will cover an additional 156 million diabetics. In total this represents 317 million of the world's estimated 425 million diabetic population. PromarkerD is a breakthrough blood test that uses a protein `fingerprint' to measure kidney disease in patients with diabetes. This ground-breaking test can both diagnose and predict disease. In results presented to the American Diabetes Association's 77th Annual Scientific Sessions and published in the journal Diabetes Care, PromarkerD can correctly predict 86% of the previously kidney disease-free diabetic patients who go on to develop chronic kidney disease. PromarkerD can also diagnose diabetic patients already suffering from chronic kidney disease that the current standard tests miss. There is currently no available test for predicting the onset of diabetic kidney disease. The official launch of PromarkerD will be in Central America in March as part of Proteomics International's stepped approach to commercialise the test in global markets using a range of platforms. This has involved the manufacture of a new kit version of PromarkerD to produce an in vitro diagnostic (IVD) immunoassay that could be used in clinical laboratories, and the existing, validated Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) version which uses mass spectrometry for specialized certified laboratories. Proteomics International is engaged with a number of potential partners to bring PromarkerD to market as a clinical diagnostic test (IVD or LDT) or companion diagnostic (CDx) in multiple jurisdictions.