Precision Diabetes has signed a US commercialisation partnership with DirectSens for the MetMark clinical test, which measures alpha-hydroxybutyrate (AHB; 2-HB), a biomarker associated with metabolic dysfunction and future type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk.
MetMark will be introduced in the US using DirectSens’ XpressGT enzymatic assay technology.
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According to the agreement, Precision Diabetes will hold exclusive US rights for the marketing, sale and distribution of the XpressGT assay for specified diabetes and prediabetes laboratory-developed test (LDT) applications.
DirectSens will supply the assay technology, product documentation, and technical onboarding. Precision Diabetes will be responsible for activities related to marketing, sales, laboratory implementation and reimbursement in the US.
The partnership follows two studies in 2026 examining AHB in relation to glucose regulation and T2D risk.
A prospective study of 1,349 people, for about ten years, found that higher AHB levels at baseline were independently associated with the later development of T2D.
The association remained after adjustment for established clinical risk factors.
Precision Diabetes founder and CEO Eric Button said: “This is what makes AHB so compelling. AHB may allow us to identify increased metabolic risk years before diabetes becomes clinically apparent.
“The opportunity is not simply to diagnose disease earlier, but potentially to identify people while there is still time to intervene and change the trajectory.”
A separate study in 2026 assessed AHB through the DirectSens XpressGT assay.
It reported that the assay identified postprandial dysglycaemia in people whose fasting glucose and HbA1c results were within normal ranges.
XpressGT is intended for measuring AHB in serum or plasma. It can be used on standard high-throughput clinical chemistry analysers, allowing testing to be incorporated into routine laboratory workflows.
Based in North Carolina, US, Precision Diabetes acquired and issued a patent in 2021 covering AHB use for detecting elevated one-hour glucose levels during an oral glucose tolerance test.
