October 26, 2009
Cooperative Diagnostics, LLC has announced the availability to the general public of a new diagnostic assay for Xenotropic Murine Leukemia-Related Virus (XMRV). For details, go to www.codiagnostics.com/XMRV/index2.php
Those interested in obtaining a blood sample collection kit (price $399) may complete an online form at the Cooperative Diagnostics site. According to the instructions:
• A sample collection kit will be sent to the address you submit within 2 to 3 business days.
• You place a drop of your blood on a filter paper that is provided and return the envelope to the lab, where the test will be completed.
• Within 5 to 7 business days after the lab receives the sample you will be sent an e-mail with the test results.
• The test results may be printed to show your physician.
Positioning the test as intended “to assist physicians in the diagnosis of ME/CFS and other disorders potentially caused by the virus, Cooperative Diagnostics cautions that it “is not intended to indicate the presence of absence of CFS or other X-associated neuro-immune diseases. Consultation with your physician is necessary to interpret the results.”
According to the Press Release issued Oct 26 by Cooperative Diagnostics:
…The Simplex XMRV test identifies patients infected with XMRV. XMRV has been recently identified in 95% of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients, in addition to large numbers of patients with Fibromyalgia, Atypical Multiple Sclerosis, and other clinical conditions. Cooperative Diagnostic's XMRV assay is the first diagnostic for the virus to be made available to the public.
"This may well be the fulfillment of a promise that I made a number of years ago to two good friends, who both became ill from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” said Brent C. Satterfield, PhD, President and CEO of Cooperative Diagnostics, LLC. “I saw firsthand the mental anguish they endured by those closest to them including the medical community as they were told their condition could be psychological.
“When we learned that XMRV might have such a high association with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, we immediately became interested in developing a test. Now, my two friends and everyone else who has suffered from the condition can take testing for XMRV into their own hands."
The Cooperative Diagnostics XMRV test is based on its proprietary real-time PCR nucleic acid detection technologies. It is capable of detecting the virus inside of blood cells. The test is available to the public at www.codiagnostics.com/XMRV/index.php for $399.00. In order to provide quality testing in a high throughput environment, Cooperative Diagnostics has contracted Clinical Reference Laboratory, Inc. (CRL), to process these assays.
CRL's Executive Director of Molecular Diagnostics, Dr. Heather Newkirk, said, "This unique technology from Cooperative Diagnostics enables a powerful detection product which synergizes well with CRL's expertise in offering quality molecular services. We look forward to working with Cooperative Diagnostics to provide quality services."
Established in 1979, CRL is a privately held reference laboratory in Lenexa, Kansas offering leading-edge testing services in the areas of Clinical Trials, Molecular Diagnostics, Insurance, and Toxicology. CRL is one of the largest single site laboratories in the country and analyzes over 80 million tests annually. Additional information is available at www.crlcorp.com.
Cooperative Diagnostics, LLC
117 Gregor Mendel Circle
Greenwood, SC 29646
(864) 229-1567
For E-mail Contact: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=2ECC6DEF96D9FC72
Source: Cooperative Diagnostics LLC website, and news release, Oct 26, 2009
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