Business
Parsortix world break-through
Parsortix world break-through.
About this update from Cellbxhealth Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n RNS Number : 7468Y Angle PLC 10 July 2008 \n \n\n\n\n\nFor Immediate Release\n\n\n10 July 2008\n\n\n\n\n\nANGLE plc\n\nParsortix world break-through\n\n\nANGLE plc ('ANGLE' or the 'Company'), the intellectual property and technology commercialisation company, is delighted to announce that its portfolio company Parsortix Inc ('Parsortix'), has achieved a world break-through by isolating foetal cells in maternal blood. \n\nPregnant women have a very small number of their baby's cells circulating in their blood. There are thought to be at most one foetal cell in 500 million maternal cells. Parsortix has developed a patent protected micro fluidic device which, when 1.5 ml of the mother's blood is flowed through the device, can for the first time capture these foetal cells for analysis. \n\nEarly definitive diagnosis for chromosomal abnormalities associated with Down's, Turner, and Klinefelter syndromes, as well as other disorders due to genetic abnormalities such as spina bifida, can help physicians better care for both the mother and the foetus during pregnancy. It also gives families earlier information with respect to the health of the unborn child and is increasingly important as the mother's average age increases.\n\nAt present, diagnosis is only possible through invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). These carry a risk to both the baby and the mother and as a result are limited only to high risk pregnancies. Parsortix's new device allows completely non-invasive testing of the unborn baby removing the risk and allowing diagnosis to be extended as a matter of course to all babies not just those known to be at high risk. The physical separation process used is simple and cost-effective. It requires no pre-treatment of the sample and no reagents.\n\nCommercially, Parsortix's unique patented separation technique will reduce overall medical costs. In the high risk category, there are currently 375,000 tests per annum in the US market alone. With a non-invasive test, the market is likely to expand to cover lower risk patients with a theoretical maximum in the US market alone of 2.6 million tests per annum. Parsortix has the potential ...