Sphingotec

12/12/2025

A new publication strengthens the clinical evidence for proenkephalin A 119-159 ( ) in chronic kidney disease (CKD), opening perspectives beyond the acute kidney injury setting.
A recently published study analyzed more than 4,700 individuals with available penKid values from three independent cohorts, focusing specifically on CKD with a median follow-up of around 8.7 years. These longitudinal data add to the evidence base of penKid and support its potential in future application beyond the AKI indication.

Highlights
• penKid levels are strongly, independently, and inversely associated with renal function across the full range of eGFR categories.
• Higher baseline penKid concentrations predict adverse renal outcomes in CKD patients and provide added value to established clinical variables.

Impact
• Implementing penKid as a diagnostic tool could significantly enhance prognostication and monitoring of CKD.
• penKid levels support risk stratification and guide individualized treatment approaches in patients with CKD.
• Integration of penKid into existing risk tools or future algorithms might improve accuracy and could drive broader adoption in nephrology practice.

Read more https://academic.oup.com/ndt/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ndt/gfaf214/8292656?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false

ABSTRACTBackground and hypothesis. The endogenous opioid proenkephalin (PENK) has been identified as an independent risk marker for acute cardiovascular di

05/12/2025

penKid takes the stage again at !

Following the strong presence of Proenkephalin A 119–159 ( ) at the poster sessions this week, the biomarker has now taken center stage in the plenary talks of DIVI25.

During the session Beendigung des Nierenersatzes: Praxis und Evidenz (Discontinuation of Renal Replacement Therapy: Practice and Evidence), penKid was highlighted as a promising biomarker with potential relevance for guiding the discontinuation of renal replacement therapy.

This recognition in a high-level clinical discussion reinforces the growing scientific and clinical interest in penKid as a decision-support marker for acute kidney care — an area where conventional markers still leave a significant unmet medical need.

For those interested in the body of evidence supporting this emerging application, our whitepaper provides a detailed overview of the current research and clinical data on penKid in acute kidney injury and for discontinuation of renal replacement therapy.
📄 Read more here: https://www.sphingotec.eu/resources

01/12/2025

We are thrilled that proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid) continues to demonstrate a strong presence at DIVI25, one of Germany's premier congresses for intensive care medicine. Dr. Birte Arlt from SphingoTec GmbH presents the poster: "Clinical utility of Proenkephalin A for prediction of worsening renal failure and prognosis in patients with sepsis – a patient-level meta-analysis."​

This analysis draws on individual patient data from four major prospective studies - FROG-ICU, AdrenOSS-1, ALBIOS, and PredARRT-Sep -involving over 2,200 critically ill patients with sepsis. It highlights penKid's ability to provide critical insights beyond standard diagnostics, identifying at-risk patients even when creatinine levels appear normal. Elevated penKid signals higher risk of kidney deterioration and mortality, enabling earlier interventions.​

📍 Join us at the poster session:

Sepsis / Infektiologie 2

Date: 04.12.2025, 12:30 - 14:00

Location: E-Poster Area in Halle H

These findings position penKid as a valuable tool for clinicians managing sepsis-associated kidney risks, supporting timely prevention and improved patient outcomes. For healthcare providers, researchers, investors, and partners interested in advancing diagnostics, this underscores penKid's ability to enhance decision-making in critical care. We welcome discussions at DIVI25.

➡️ Read here the abstract: https://pag.virtual-meeting.org/Release/divi25/de-DE/pag/presentation/727763

17/11/2025

We are heading to MEDICA - Leading International Trade Fair this week!🫱🏼‍🫲🏼
Europe's largest event for the sector taking place in , Germany, from November 17th to 20th is approaching, and this year, we are excited to announce our participation!

This is a fantastic opportunity to meet, learn about our latest innovations, and explore how we can collaborate together. If you’re attending, let’s connect and join Deborah Bergmann at to explore SphingoTec’s innovative diagnostic solutions for critical care.

22/09/2025

Dr Florian Uhle, Chief Medical Officer and managing director at SphingoTec, attended the official launch of the ADORABLE consortium on September 17th in Groningen. This exciting collaboration unites leading academic and industry partners to improve the qualification of donor organs using cutting-edge biomarkers and data-driven approaches, aiming to enhance outcomes in kidney transplantation.

The ADORABLE consortium, coordinated by University Medical Center Groningen and supported by the Dutch National Research Agenda, focuses on developing precise biomarker-based tools to better assess donor kidney quality before transplantation. This effort addresses a critical challenge, as a relevant proportion of organs will disqualify for transplantation and even if, nearly half of transplanted kidneys fail within ten years – partly due to limitations in current assessment methods.

Within this scope, Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a well-established functional biomarker, holds particular promise. Based on growing scientific evidence, penKid delivers rapid and real-time insights into kidney health, enabling earlier and more precise detection of acute kidney injury and functional changes compared to traditional markers. Recent studies in kidney transplant patients show penKid’s ability to predict delayed graft function - and its severity – days earlier than serum creatinine, helping clinicians to tailor interventions proactively.

Together, the ADORABLE consortium and innovative biomarkers like penKid aim to transform donor organ evaluation and post-transplant care, re-shaping pathways for a more personalized and effective treatment.

Learn more about the ADORABLE project here: https://adorable-consortium.org/

The ADORABLE Consortium advances kidney transplant outcomes through AI-based decision support tools using novel biomarkers and machine learning. We aim for clinical impact by 2035 with our vision of ‘one kidney for life’.

19/08/2025

🌟 New S3 Sepsis Guidelines Published 🌟
The updated S3 guidelines on sepsis prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and aftercare introduce important recommendations for kidney replacement therapy (KRT) in patients with sepsis and septic shock. They emphasize the timely initiation of KRT in cases of life-threatening disturbances in fluid balance, acid-base status, or electrolyte levels, and recommend flexibility in the choice of technique and dosing. https://register.awmf.org/de/leitlinien/detail/079-001

However, the guidelines also point to a notable gap — there is no specific recommendation on when to discontinue KRT. This decision remains a major clinical challenge in managing sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI).

This is where Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a functional biomarker, holds promise for supporting clinical decision-making in this context, based on growing scientific evidence. PenKid delivers real-time insights into kidney function dynamics, enabling earlier and more precise detection of AKI compared to traditional biomarkers. Its benefits include the ability to predict AKI onset, monitor progression, and assess kidney recovery, offering valuable support throughout the course of kidney function management in septic patients.

With the updated guidelines highlighting a gap on when to stop KRT, recent studies have shown that penKid levels can reflect renal recovery, helping clinicians identify the optimal timing to safely discontinue therapy. This evidence-based approach supports more personalized and effective care for patients with sepsis and AKI. Access the papers here: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/6/2602 and https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/20/10873 Stay tuned - more evidence to be released soon!

➡ Together, the guideline updates and innovative clinical tools like penKid pave the way for improved decision-making and patient outcomes in critical care.

07/08/2025

🔬 Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid): A Promising Biomarker for Early AKI Detection

The latest Intensive Care Medicine review (2025) highlights penKid as a next-generation functional biomarker for assessing kidney function in critically ill patients. Key insights from the review:
• Reflects real-time glomerular filtration rate (GFR), offering sensitive and rapid information.
• Detects early or subclinical acute kidney injury (AKI), even before changes in serum creatinine manifest.
• Predicts AKI development and poor outcomes in ICU patients, including in those undergoing renal replacement therapy.
• Independent of inflammation and other common confounders such as drugs and comorbidities
• Validated in large, multicenter cohorts referenced in the review, demonstrating its clinical performance.

The review places penKid as a valuable addition to the current AKI diagnostic toolbox for earlier diagnosis, enabling timely interventions for better long-term outcomes.

Read more in the paper https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-025-08015-8

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a heterogeneous syndrome that not only affects short-term morbidity and mortality but also influences long-term outcomes. AKI is part of acute kidney disease (AKD) that encompasses a range of different conditions and is characterized by a kidney dysfunction lasting 90 da...

30/07/2025

In the heart of Chicago, SphingoTec is connecting with peers at ADLM 2025, focusing on the latest approaches in diagnostic biomarkers for acute care.
🤝 Our Managing Directors, Deborah Bergmann and Florian Uhle, are engaging with industry leaders to deepen collaborations and explore opportunities that advance our commitment to improving critical care diagnostics.
At SphingoTec, we specialize in pioneering biomarker innovations that address urgent unmet needs in acute care conditions such as sepsis, acute kidney injury, and acute heart failure. Our portfolio of innovative biomarkers, including penKid and bio-ADM, delivers actionable insights to support timely clinical decisions and enhance patient management. These solutions align with our vision to close diagnostic gaps and develop meaningful innovations for healthcare.

Laboratory diagnostics play a fundamental role across nearly every step of patient care—guiding detection, informing clinical decisions, monitoring treatment, and shaping prevention strategies. Studies and policy analyses have recognized that access to effective diagnostics is critical for providing high-quality, timely care, especially in acute and critical care settings. Participation at ADLM enables us to engage internationally with partners who share our goal of advancing laboratory medicine innovation for critical care.

🌎 We look forward to strengthening existing relationships and exploring new collaborations to accelerate bringing our diagnostic biomarkers from development into clinical practice.

01/07/2025

In a landmark study published in Transplant International, led by Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany in collaboration with researchers from Sydney, Australia, Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid) is identified as a reliable biomarker for the early and precise assessment of graft function trajectories following kidney transplantation.

The research demonstrates that PenKid not only identifies patients at risk for delayed graft function significantly earlier than traditional markers but also distinguishes between slow and delayed graft function with remarkable accuracy, offering clinicians a valuable new tool for patient management.

▶️PenKid surpasses serum creatinine on Day 1 post-transplant in detecting delayed graft function (DGF), with an AUROC of 0.87 versus 0.56 for creatinine.
▶️PenKid differentiates slow graft function (SGF) from DGF up to 8 days earlier than current methods, supporting more timely clinical decisions.
▶️PenKid levels remain unaffected by kidney replacement therapy (KRT), allowing for more accurate assessment of kidney function.
▶️Independent validation in transplant cohort from Australia confirms performance and broad applicability.

Read the press release https://ow.ly/8kQW50WillE

26/06/2025

We are honored to have participated in the 43rd Vicenza Course on AKI, CRRT, EBPT, and Critical Care Nephrology—an event renowned for fostering dialogue and innovation among global experts. This year’s gathering continues to set the standard for advancing patient care in acute kidney injury.
Sphingotec was represented by managing directors Deborah Bergman and Florian Uhle, who actively engaged with attendees throughout the program. Our biomarker penkid played a central role, featured prominently in both plenary and Meet the Expert sessions.

A key highlight was the Meet the Expert interview hosted by Florian Uhle, featuring Prof. Lui Forni. The session drew record participation from the critical care nephrology community, with interactive discussions on the future of AKI diagnostics. Prof. Forni shared expert perspectives on how functional and damage biomarkers are transforming the approach to AKI, underscoring the importance of early and accurate diagnosis for better patient outcomes.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the organizers, speakers, and all participants for their engagement and the meaningful exchange of ideas. Thank you for making the Vicenza Course a space where new ideas in AKI diagnostics can truly take shape.

05/06/2025

SphingoTec is represented this year at the ERA Congress in Vienna by Dr. Florian Uhle, with penKid featured in the central AKI session. The integration of functional biomarkers into clinical practice—especially in critical care settings—remains a key focus for improving early detection and management of acute kidney injury.

PenKid supports clinicians by providing timely, actionable insights that can inform patient care decisions in nephrology and intensive care. We are proud to be part of this year’s ERA program and look forward to ongoing collaboration with the nephrology community to further the understanding and application of innovative biomarkers in clinical practice.

22/05/2025

It’s a wrap from Brussels!

The SphingoTec team, represented by Deborah Bergmann and Mohamed El Ebiary, had the privilege of engaging in many insightful discussions with industry leaders and innovators.

Our focus: supporting the translation of diagnostic innovation into routine critical care practice. Thank you to everyone who shared their expertise and vision—collaboration is key to advancing patient outcomes.

Looking forward to building on these connections and driving meaningful change in critical care diagnostics!