Study Finds That a Low-Cost Measure for C-Reactive Protein - CRP - Can Be a Highly Effective...

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DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2002

High sensitivity CRP assays available from Dade Behring

Testing blood for the presence of a substance called C-reactive protein, in conjunction with cholesterol

testing, could be an important means of identifying persons at risk of developing heart disease, according to a study published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study is the largest to date on the use of C-reactive protein in cardiac risk assessment, and involved 27,939 women over the mean course of eight years. It reported that "...because C-reactive protein and LDL cholesterol measurements tended to identify different high-risk groups, screening for both biologic markers provided better prognostic information than screening for either alone.1" The levels of CRP associated with increased risk of heart disease are very low, and can only be detected using high sensitivity assays. Dade Behring's N high sensitivity CRP assay was one of the first such tests in the market(a). (Some CRP assays are used to identify inflammation not associated with heart disease.) In patients at risk for cardiovascular events, C-reactive protein and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels are frequently elevated.

"We are very proud to have been one of the first diagnostic companies to bring a high sensitivity CRP assay to market," said Jim Reid-Anderson, Chairman, President, CEO, Dade Behring. "The results and implications of this report provide the medical profession with scientific value for including C-reactive protein testing in cardiac risk assessment," he said. "This could lead to a shift in the paradigm for assessing patients for their risk of heart disease. We hope that this study will encourage physicians to include hsCRP in their evaluative battery. Cardiac disease remains the number one killer in the United States, and throughout the world. Identification of risk for heart disease can lead to more appropriate therapy, and can help manage health care costs for society at all levels, whether institutional or individual."

"This test, combined with other means of cardiac risk assessment, is a low-cost method of identifying those patients at risk of cardiovascular disease," said Mary Lou Gantzer, Director, Clinical and Scientific Affairs, Dade Behring. "It has the potential to affect the disease management of millions of individuals affected by heart disease."

Medical professionals can obtain information on cardiac hsCRP by visiting the Dade Behring web site at www.dadebehring.com.

Dade Behring is the world's largest company dedicated solely to clinical diagnostics. It offers a wide range of products and systems designed to meet the day-to-day needs of laboratories, making it today's best resource in this field. The company is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and has operations in 43 countries. Additional company information is available on the Internet at www.dadebehring.com.

(a) The N High Sensitivity CRP assay is for use on Dade Behring BN(TM)Systems. Dade Behring also has a high sensitivity CRP assay available on its line of Dimension(R)clinical chemistry systems.

1. N Engl J Med, Vol. 347, No. 20, Nov. 14, 2002,1557-1565.