Genzyme Diagnostics Launches New Kidney Disease Test

Genzyme Diagnostics, a business unit of Genzyme Corp., today announced the launch of its Cystatin C assay, a new test to aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of kidney disease.

“This test is an important addition to our line of renal clinical chemistry products, and an example of our ongoing effort to build an even broader portfolio in this area,” stated Genzyme Diagnostics President Donald Pogorzelski. “Our goal is to improve the care of kidney disease patients, and our Cystatin C assay expands the range of tools we offer physicians to enhance their ability to assess kidney function.”
Cystatin C is an early marker used in the determination of mild renal impairment, and is particularly useful, when compared to a single serum creatinine test, due to its constant production, and independence of outside factors such as of muscle mass, age or sex. Genzyme Diagnostics markets a number of clinical chemistry tests to assess kidney function, including creatinine, microalbumin, urea, and others.

How the test works
The Genzyme Cystatin C assay uses a colloidal gold methodology that is unique to the cystatin C marketplace and is intended for the measurement of cystatin C concentration in human serum, heparinized plasma, or EDTA plasma. It is optimized for use on multiple automated clinical chemistry analyzers and is 510k approved and CE marked.