LAS VEGAS — After announcing a game-changing diagnostic tool to benefit cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in October 2019, Mars Petcare’s Antech Diagnostics branch has expanded the solution with Antech SDMA, which stands for symmetric dimethylarginine.

Antech SDMA will work in tandem with the initial solution, RenalTech, to help predict the onset of CKD up to two years before the disease actually occurs, providing veterinarians and pet owners time to develop the best possible outlooks for disease-facing animals.

"The outlook for CKD in cats is absolutely changing," said Jennifer Ogeer, DVM, vice president of medical affairs and commercial marketing at Antech. "The opportunity for disease prediction, early diagnosis, staging and disease monitoring in one complete solution gives us an unprecedented opportunity to create, tailor and revise highly personalized care plans to ensure we're following IRIS [International Renal Interest Society] guidelines, recommending exactly what a cat needs, when they need it.”

SDMA works as a biomarker in the kidneys of dogs and cats, according to Antech. It is able to signal when kidney function is lost and when there is an overproduction of creatinine, which would also indicate loss of kidney function.

Animals who had tested negative or positive for early onset CKD can be supplemented with SDMA testing to further develop diagnosis and personalized care plans, Antech explained.

“Our new renal health portfolio is evidence of our commitment not only to delivering the most innovative diagnostics in veterinary medicine but also creating the comprehensive toolkits that, in this instance, allow veterinarians to use available biomarkers exactly as guidelines recommend to set new standards of care in veterinary medicine,” Ogeer added.

The company said the SDMA solution will be available for both cats and dogs in late spring of 2020.

Read more about RenalTech, the complementary diagnostic tool released by Antech in October 2019.

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