SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- diaDexus, Inc. today announced the appointment of Fisher HealthCare as the exclusive customer channel for its new automated PLAC Test for the Hitachi, Hitachi Roche P-Modular and Olympus chemistry analyzers to U.S. hospital clinical laboratories. The new automated format was recently cleared by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) enabling the test to run on these popular clinical chemistry analyzers.
The PLAC Test is the only blood test cleared by the FDA to assess risk for both coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke associated with atherosclerosis. Earlier detection and more aggressive treatment can prevent heart attacks and strokes. The PLAC Test measures lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)), a vascular-specific inflammatory enzyme implicated in the formation of rupture-prone plaque. It is plaque rupture and thrombosis, not stenosis, that cause the majority of cardiac events.
According to Patrick Plewman, president and chief executive officer of diaDexus, the agreement is an important milestone for the company as it expands the availability of the PLAC Test. "The PLAC Test provides new information, over and above traditional cardiovascular risk factors, to help identify individuals at increased risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. This new relationship with Fisher HealthCare and its powerful sales force will help expand the number of clinical laboratories offering the PLAC Test," Plewman said.
Joe Bernardo, president of Fisher HealthCare, said "Fisher HealthCare is committed to providing comprehensive, high-value diagnostic tests in order to meet the needs of the labs, physicians, and patients we serve. This new automated version of the PLAC Test will help reduce the cost of running the test and improve turnaround time."
About diaDexus
diaDexus, Inc., a privately held diagnostics company based in South San Francisco, is focused on the development and commercialization of patent-protected in vitro diagnostic products addressing unmet needs in cardiovascular disease and oncology. In addition to the PLAC Test, diaDexus is developing a pipeline of novel cancer diagnostic tests. For more information, visit http://www.plactest.com or http://www.diaDexus.com.
About Fisher HealthCare
Fisher HealthCare, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., is a leading supplier of diagnostic tests, equipment, chemicals, and other products used by national laboratory networks, independent clinical laboratories, hospitals, and physicians' offices. For more information about Fisher HealthCare and its products, visit http://www.fishersci.com.
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With annual revenues of $10 billion, we have more than 30,000 employees and serve over 350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental and industrial process control settings. Serving customers through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine testing to complex research and discovery. Thermo Scientific offers customers a complete range of high-end analytical instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing options to customers and continuously advance our technologies to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees alike. Visit http://www.thermofisher.com.
SOURCE diaDexus, Inc.
