The Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Mycophenolic Acid assay (MPAT) is now available for use on the company’s portfolio of Dimension® Integrated Chemistry Systems in the U.S. With this addition, the company becomes the first laboratory diagnostics solutions provider in the nation to offer the consolidation of four fully automated immunosuppressant drug (ISD) assays on a single integrated chemistry system. The four ISD tests—mycophenolic acid, cyclosporine, tacrolimus and sirolimus—are the most commonly prescribed immunosuppressants used by physicians to prevent organ rejection. Now, they can be run simultaneously with routine chemistry tests on the Dimension systems, enabling more comprehensive care for transplant patients.
More and more transplant patients are being treated with multi-drug regimens that include mycophenolic acid (MPA), and studies suggest that therapeutic drug monitoring of MPA levels is helpful in patient management. Therefore, having the ability to efficiently monitor any combination of MPA, cyclosporine, tacrolimus and sirolimus therapy on one integrated instrument can help to ensure patients receive the optimal balance of therapy. This may not only save the transplanted organ, but also the life of the patient.
Furthermore, because manual sample pretreatment steps are not required for any ISD tests performed on the Dimension systems, including the new MPAT assay, clinical laboratories can be more efficient and reduce the potential for errors that may be caused by extensive handling of patient samples. Laboratories also save time by performing ISD tests alongside other routine chemistry tests, all on one integrated instrument. For more information, please visit: www.usa.siemens.com/MPAT.
Launched in November 2011, Agenda 2013 is a two-year global initiative to further strengthen the innovative power and competitiveness of the Siemens Healthcare Sector. Specific measures will be implemented in four fields of action: Innovation, Competitiveness, Regional Footprint, and People Development.
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 51,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2011 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.5 billion euros and profit of around 1.3 billion euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.
