Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches New Immunosuppressant Immunoassay

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. today announced its new Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus Reagent kit, the newest assay in the group of immunosuppressant drug monitoring products. The QMS® Everolimus Reagent kit, which rounds out the company's full array of immunosuppressant immunoassays that includes Cyclosporine, Tacrolimus and Mycophenolic Acid, was the first to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for monitoring the appropriate blood levels of everolimus, a drug that helps prevent rejection in kidney transplant patients.

The company will showcase the products at Thermo Scientific booth #1720 during Clinical Lab Expo at AACC 2011, being held July 26 – July 28, at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia.

Thermo Scientific products have a proven track record for supplying high-quality reagents, calibrators and controls since 1989. Thermo Fisher's homogeneous immunoassay products have been used in many major clinical laboratories and drug testing facilities around the world. The newest, ready-to-use liquid QMS Everolimus assay is used as part of therapeutic drug monitoring, an integral part in organ transplant recipient treatment programs. Based on the Thermo Scientific Quantitative Microsphere Systems (QMS), a homogeneous particle-enhanced turbidimetric technology, the Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus assay is used on automated clinical chemistry analyzers for quantitative determination of everolimus in human whole blood, the active ingredient in the Novartis immunosuppressant drug - trade name Zortress®.

Strategies for immunosuppressive treatment have focused on preventing T lymphocyte cell activation and/or proliferation. Everolimus acts as a proliferation inhibitor. Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus Calibrator and Control sets are also available for use with the QMS Everolimus Assay. The calibrator kit contains six different calibrators to complete a full six-point calibration, as part of the test procedure; and the QMS Everolimus Control Set contains three levels.

As manufacturers continue to develop new drugs, 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. Fortunately, 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.

For more information about Thermo Scientific QMS Everolimus, please visit booth #1720 during AACC 2011. Alternatively visit the company article page.