TORONTO, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Tm Bioscience Corporation , a leader in the commercial genetic testing market, today announced it has signed an agreement to supply St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (Phoenix, Arizona) with Tag-It(TM) reagents for use in its Cystic Fibrosis (CF) gene assay.
“We selected Tm’s Tag-It(TM) platform because we were impressed by its performance and flexibility. Tm’s technology has allowed us to develop an assay testing for numerous CF associated mutations at once in a single well, an extremely time-efficient and cost-effective solution,” said John Stone, Director of Laboratory Services at St. Joseph’s Hospital. “Because the platform is open and flexible, we ultimately anticipate providing our patients with a broader menu of important genetic tests using Tm reagents.”
Located in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is a 536-bed, not-for-profit hospital that provides a wide range of health, social and support services, with special advocacy for the poor and underserved. Founded in 1895 by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph’s was the first hospital in the Phoenix area. The hospital is part of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), one of the largest healthcare systems in the West with 40 hospitals in Arizona, California and Nevada.
“We look forward to working with St. Joseph’s Hospital to provide leading edge medical laboratory services for the state of Arizona,” said Greg Hines, President and CEO of Tm Bioscience.
About Tag-It(TM) reagents and genetic tests
Tm Bioscience’s product menu is focused in the fields of human genetic disorders, pharmacogenetics and infectious disease. The Company has commercialized Analyte Specific Reagents(x) and a series of Tag-It(TM) tests(xx) for a variety of genetic disorders. The Company’s Tag-It(TM) Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Kit is the first multiplexed human disease genotyping test to be cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an in vitro device (IVD) for diagnostic use in the United States. It has also received the CE Mark, allowing the test to be marketed for diagnostic purposes in the European Union. All genetic tests from Tm Bioscience are based on the Tag-It(TM) Universal Array platform, which utilizes a proprietary universal tag system that allows for easy optimization, product development and expansion. Assays from Tm operate on the Luminex xMAP(R) system, a well-established bead based instrument. Combined, the Universal Array and Luminex instrument enable the rapid production of flexible, high-throughput, low-cost DNA-based tests.
(x) Analyte Specific Reagent. Analytical and performance characteristics are not established. (xx) For Investigational Use Only. The performance characteristics of these products have not been established About Tm Bioscience - Putting the Human Genome to Work(TM)
Tm Bioscience is a DNA-based diagnostics company developing a suite of genetic tests. Tm Bioscience’s product pipeline includes tests for genetic disorders, drug metabolism, and infectious diseases. Tm Bioscience is located in Toronto, Ontario. Additional information about Tm Bioscience can be found at www.tmbioscience.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which by their nature necessarily involve risk and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements. Tm Bioscience considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions readers that these assumptions may ultimately prove to be incorrect due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the difficulty of predicting regulatory approvals, market acceptance and demand for new products, the availability of appropriate genetic content and other materials required for Tm Bioscience’s products, Tm Bioscience’s ability to manufacture its products on a large scale, the protection of intellectual property connected with genetic content, the impact of competitive products, currency fluctuations, risks associated with Tm Bioscience’s manufacturing facility and any other similar or related risks and uncertainties. If any of these risks or uncertainties were to materialize, or if assumptions underlying the forward- looking statements of management were to prove incorrect, actual results of Tm Bioscience could vary materially from those that are expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Tm Bioscience disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS: Tm Bioscience - Canada, James Smith, TheEquicom Group, Tel.: (416) 815-0700, Email: jsmith@equicomgroup.com; St.Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Public Relations, (602) 406-3319,stjosephwebmail@chw.org; To request a free copy of this organization’sannual report, please go to http://www.newswire.ca and click on Tools forInvestors.