Friday December 05 2008 | Biotechnology feed | All feeds
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Friday December 05 2008 | Biotechnology feed | All feeds
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Bridgeport,
Connecticut, USA (December 3, 2003)…. Catachem, Inc. (Catachem, Private) today
announced the addition of the a-L-Frucosidase (AFU) in vitro diagnostic (IVD)
chemistry reagent kit for human and veterinary clinical diagnostic laboratories. Serum a-L-Frucosidase
(AFU) activity is considered a useful marker of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Increased AFU levels in serum are an early
indication of HCC. AFU is a lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of a
diverse group of naturally-occurring fucoglycoconjugate. Measurement of serum
fetoprotein (AFP) is a common practice for early detection of HCC but AFP assay
alone suffers from its low specificity and sensitivity due to the fact that not
all HCC secrete AFP. AFP levels may be normal in as many as 40% of patients with
early HCC and 15-20% patients with advanced HCC. Recent studies clearly
demonstrated that measurements of both AFP and AFU can significantly increase
the detection specificity and sensitivity for HCC. AFU is reported to be a more
sensitive marker especially for detecting a small tumor size of HCC. Measurement
of AFU is made by an enzymatic cleavage of the synthetic substrate
2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl-a-L-fucopyranoside to a-L-fucoside and
2-chloro-4-nitrophenol which is quantified by measuring the absorbance at 405 nm
in a kinetic fashion. It is a one step assay with a single assay reagent. One
unit of AFU is defined as the amount of AFU that cleaves one milli mole of
2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl-a-L-fucoside per min at 37°C. AFU is a one reagent
chemistry available in one size. Reagents are packaged ready-to-use in plastic
wedge bottles. Calibrators are available separately: AFU Kit CC082B, 220 tests.
AFU Control CC082B-C, 1 mL. Benjamin
Twombly, Vice President Sales and Marketing, commented, “Our customers become
more competitive when they provide more options to their patients.
This new AFU assay provides new choices for Carcinoma Panels.” Luis P.
Leon, President, commented, “We are pleased to add this assay to our growing
product line”. About
Catachem, Inc. Catachem
has a rich 20 year history in clinical chemistry as a manufacturer and
distributor of in-vitro chemistry products and services for human, veterinary
and environmental laboratories. Catachem chemists helped develop many of the
automated diagnostic chemistries widely in use today. Catachem created the DiscretePak™
and VetSpec™ line of reagents
for human and veterinary automated analyzers.
Catachem offers FDA approved (510K) chemistries (liquid and dry)
including enzymatic chemistries developed in conjunction with IFCC and CDC.
Catachem has more than 500 applications for all types of analyzers
including the Roche™, Hitachi™, Olympus™,
AU Series™, RA Series™, Opera™,
DAX™, Bayer™, Advia™,
Synchron™, Beckman™, Abbott™
and many other analyzers. Corporate
headquarters, research, custom formulation laboratories, and manufacturing are
located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Catachem
supplies leading laboratories and equipment manufacturers from distributors
around the world. Forward-looking
statements in this release are made pursuant to the ``safe harbor'' provision of
the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the
results of research and development efforts, the effect of regulation by the
United States Food and Drug Administration and other agencies, the impact of
competitive products, product development commercialization and
technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's
periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Keywords: Catachem,
Chemistry, Reagents, In-Vitro Diagnostics, IVD, a-L-Frucosidase, AFU, hepatocellular
carcinoma, HCC, fucoglycoconjugates For
more information contact: Benjamin Twombly Catachem
chemistries include: 5'-Nucleotidase (5NT), Adenosine Deaminase (ADA), Alanine
Aminotransferase (ALT), Albumin BCG (ALB), a-L-Fucosidase (AFU), Alkaline
Phosphatase (ALP), Ammonia (NH), Amylase (AMY), Aspartate Aminotransferase
(ALP), β-Hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), Bicarbonate (HC03), Bile Acids (BA),
Bilirubin, Direct with Blank (DBILI), Bilirubin, Total with Blank (TBILI),
Bilirubin, Total (TBILI), Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Bromide (BR), CO2 [340]
(CO2), CO2 [380] (CO2), CO2 [single reagent] (CO2), Ca+++ Arsenazo [650NM]
(CA3), Chloride [340 NM] (CL), Cholesterol (CH), Creatine Kinase (CK),
Creatinine (CREAT), Fructosamine [millimole method] (FR), Fructosamine, Glycated
Serum Protein [enzymatic] (FR), Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT), Glucose
Hexokinase (GLU), Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c), High Density Lipoproteins,
Dextran Sulfate (HDL), Inorganic Phosphorus (IP), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LD),
Lipase (LIP), Lithium [enzymatic] (LI), Magnesium (MG), N-Acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase
(NAG), Potassium [enzymatic] (K), Plasma Free Hemoglobin (PFH), Pre-albumin (TBPA),
Sodium [enzymatic] (NA), Sorbitol Dehydrogenase (SDH), Thiopurine
methyltransferase (TPMT), Total Bile Acids (TBA), Total Iron (TI), Total Protein
(TP), Triglycerides (TRIG), UIBC and TIBC (UIBC), Uric Acid (UA), Vitamin B6
(V6B), Multipoint Calibrator Catacal, Catatrol Level 1 Catatrol Level 2, Bile
Acids Control, Bile Acids Calibrator, BHBA Calibrator, BHBA Control Level 1,
BHBA Control Level 2; Bromide Calibrator, BR Control Level 1, BR Control Level
2; Fructosamine Calibrator, FR Control Level 1, FR Control Level 2, SDH Control
Level 1, SDH Control Level 2. Call
+1 (203) 240-6604 or Write Catachem@aol.com. |
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