LOS ANGELES, Calif. (July 17, 2012) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, is featuring its new Thermo Scientific QMS Tacrolimus Immunoassay at the annual conference of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), updating the technology used to monitor tacrolimus, the most commonly prescribed immunosuppressant drug. This product is only CE marked, and is not FDA cleared at this time.  The QMS Tacrolimus Reagent kit utilizes the company’s most sensitive technology for immunoassays to deliver the next generation in the monitoring of tacrolimus. It is currently approved for use in the European Union. The QMS Tacrolimus Immunoassay is being showcased within Thermo Scientific booth 2215, during AACC, being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 17-19.

The liquid, ready to use immunoassay provides bar-coded system reagents to run on the Thermo Scientific Indiko benchtop analyzer. Applications are also available for mainframe, high-throughput chemistry systems, such as the Beckman Coulter AU Series™ Systems, Roche Cobas^® systems and the Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Vitros^® systems. This updates the company’s full menu of immunosuppressant immunoassays that includes cyclosporine, everolimus and mycophenolic acid.

Based on the Thermo Scientific Quantitative Microsphere Systems (QMS), a homogeneous particle-enhanced turbidimetric technology, the Thermo Scientific QMS Tacrolimus immunoassay provides improved low-end sensitivity to aid physicians in monitoring patients on multiple drug therapies. In recent years, clinicians have demanded assays with better low-end sensitivity to allow monitoring at the lower dosing levels they have adopted to prevent common drug side-effects.

Since 1989, Thermo Scientific products have established a proven track record for high-quality reagents, calibrators and controls. The homogeneous immunoassay products have been used in many major clinical laboratories and drug testing facilities around the world. The QMS Tacrolimus assay is used as part of complete therapeutic drug monitoring protocols, an integral part in organ transplant recipient treatment programs.  

Thermo Scientific QMS Tacrolimus Calibrator sets are also available for use with the QMS Tacrolimus Assay. The calibrator kit contains six different calibrators to complete a full six-point calibration, as part of the test procedure.

As new therapeutic drugs continue to be developed, monitoring the therapeutic ranges for each drug becomes more important. Transplant physicians working with clinical laboratories, for example, must carefully manage dosages to avoid organ rejection caused by low levels of the immunosuppressant drugs or toxicity issues caused by excessive levels of a drug or a potentially lethal combination. Thermo Fisher is constantly innovating, delivering new assay methods, calibrators and controls that build on its history of product reliability, accuracy, ease-of-use and lot-to-lot consistency.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With revenues of $12 billion, we have approximately 39,000 employees and serve customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as in environmental and process control industries. We create value for our key stakeholders through three premier brands, Thermo Scientific, Fisher Scientific and Unity™ Lab Services, which offer a unique combination of innovative technologies, convenient purchasing options and a single solution for laboratory operations management. Our products and services help our customers solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Visit www.thermofisher.com.

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