Precision BioLogic, a Halifax medtech company that sells diagnostic testing supplies, has launched a new product for the bleeding disorder Hemophilia B.

The Hemophilia test, recently approved by Health Canada, is in response to increasing market demand for chromogenic assays and is the only Hemophilia B test of its kind available in the country, Precision said in a statement. Chromogenic assays measure the clotting properties of blood using coloured substrates — the substance on which an enzyme, such as those that aid in blood clotting, acts.

Founded in 1992, Precision sells a raft of diagnostic kits in Canada, the United States and Europe under its CRYOcheck brand, which freezes biological samples to aid in storage and reduce “reconstitution errors” that can result from other methods of preservation.

“With the launch of (the new Hemophilia test), our latest in a series of novel, regulatory compliant solutions, we build on our leadership role in the coagulation diagnostics industry and our commitment to improving hemophilia testing,” said CEO Paul Empey.

In 2018, Precision acquired competitor Affinity Biologicals of Ancaster, Ont., merging the two companies in a deal that Precision said was aimed at expanding its slate of product offerings.

Recently, the company was honoured at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Halifax Business Awards, winning the headline Business of the Year title.

Hemophilia B, meanwhile, is an inherited disorder caused by insufficient clotting factor IX, an enzyme, in patients’ bloodstreams. It can cause permanent joint damage and deadly hemorrhages, with sufferers bleeding directly into their joints as often as several times a week, but is treatable with intravenous medication.