We Are Randox | Life in Australia with Tanya Galewski

Posted on 13th July 2018 at 12:01 am.

Here at Randox, we’re a diverse bunch. We have more than 1400 employees of 44 nationalities, including 300 research scientists and engineers. Needless to say, the Randox family is a multicultural one!

We have four key manufacturing and R&D sites – in County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland; Bangalore, India; and the Greater Washington DC area, in the U.S.

We also have additional sales and distribution offices spread over 145 different countries, ranging from France to Argentina, Italy to China, and Vietnam to Australia – the focus of this month’s We Are Randox feature.

To learn more about the country famous for Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, and so many more natural wonders and landmarks, we sat down with Technical Sales Specialist Tanya Galewski at this week’s Annual Randox Sales Conference.

Read on to hear find out what it’s like to live in Australia, her tips for visiting the country, and of course, her top 5 must-see destinations!

Life in Australia is pretty much as you would expect – super relaxed and wonderfully warm.

But in saying that, we’re such outdoorsy people. We’re always out eating and drinking, and there are national parks and beaches everywhere, which means that we end up spending a lot more time outside than inside, which I think makes for a great atmosphere.

We’re just real go-getters!

My top 5 Must-See Destinations in Australia would be:

Bondi Beach

(I live there so I have to say Bondi Beach!) But it certainly is one of Australia’s most iconic and most beautiful beaches. It really emulates the laid-back atmosphere of Australia, has wonderful cafés along the boardwalk, some beautiful shops, and of course the sand is totally pristine. If you like to surf the waves are incredible and the water itself is stunning.

McLaren Vale

This is a beautiful wine region in the south of Australia which overlooks the ocean. Again, I may be biased as it is near my home town, but the wine produced there is totally world-class. You can take part in wine tasting events, visit farmers’ markets and enjoy live cookery demonstrations. It’s the perfect foodie destination.

Noosa National Park

This is a national park in Queensland. It has the most gorgeous coastal walk where you can see dolphins, experience beautiful views of headlands and dunes, and go surfing. If you’re interested in Australian wildlife it’s also home to a range of animals including parrots, koalas, and frogs.

Uluru

Moving away from the coastland, the next spot on my Must-See list would be Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock). It’s in the centre of Australia and is the absolute epitome of the Australian outback. Not only is it a geologist’s dream, it’s also really spiritual and you can’t help but be in awe when you see this wonder of the world.

Melbourne

There is so much to see and do in the city of Melbourne. You could spend all your time there just eating and drinking and you still wouldn’t be able to visit all the wonderful cafés and restaurants!

The culture in Australia is quite diverse because it’s a multi-cultural country, meaning that our cuisine is also quite diverse. One of the good things about that is because there are so many people who specialise in what they cook, the food is exceptionally good. It’s helped also by the fact that we have such amazing home-grown produce.

Overall I would say that Australia is the perfect place for you if you love getting outdoors in the fresh air, enjoy trying new food, and like having the opportunity to take on new adventures.

With such a wide range of culture, climate and terrain all in the one country, there really is something for everybody.

We’re delighted to have had the chance to chat to Tanya, to learn about life in Australia and find out more about the country which hosts one of our international offices.

For more We Are Randox stories about our amazing colleagues, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and follow the hashtag #WeAreRandox.

For current vacancies in Randox Australia, visit careers.randox.com

The link between your nutrition and your mental health

Posted on 6th July 2018 at 3:33 pm.

Written by Randox Communications

Our nutritional health affects almost every process in the human body.

And nutrition gives us energy. A body without food is like a car without fuel, and we certainly wouldn’t put bad fuel in our car. Just like a car, consistently putting bad fuel into our bodies can have a detrimental effect.

For example, if you are a vegetarian, you may not have enough iron in your diet, or if you exclude dairy from your diet, you may not have enough calcium. Such insufficiency is well known for causing various health problems such as anaemia and brittle bones.

But what you may not know is that a lack of particular vitamins or minerals in our diet may also negatively affect our mental health. And it’s not surprising when you learn that the brain and the gastrointestinal systems are so closely linked.

Have you ever had “butterflies in your stomach”? Or been in a “gut-wrenching” situation? These phrases are used for a reason.

Your gastrointestinal system is sensitive to emotion – so whether you feel angry, sad, anxious or excited, this emotion may appear as symptoms in your stomach. The brain can even trigger the release of stomach juices just by thinking about your next meal.

And the connection can work both ways, as the gut-brain relationship is bidirectional. A troubled digestive system can send signals of pain or discomfort to the brain, and can therefore be the cause of mental illbeing.

Low levels of B-12 and other B vitamins such as vitamin B-6 and folate in particular are linked to depression. And this is because they play a role in producing brain chemicals that affect mood and other brain functions.

It’s therefore important to monitor whether nutritionally you are getting enough of these vitamins in your diet, which may in fact by the source of your mental illbeing. Our scientists at Randox Health thoroughly analyse up to 350 of your body’s biological markers to reveal what’s happening in your body, and if it turns out that a gut imbalance is having an effect on your mental health, there’s something you can do about it.

Determining the appropriate treatment may be as simple as eating more eggs, milk, cheese, milk products, meat, fish, shellfish or poultry, which are known sources of Vitamin B12.

So take control of your health – find out if your stomach problems are contributing to your mental concerns.

Contact the Randox Health team today.

Tel: 0800 2545 130

Email:info@randoxhealthni.com

How Randox is helping to diagnose nutritional status

Posted on 4th July 2018 at 12:15 am.

Written by Randox Communications

At Randox, we’re dedicated to improving health worldwide and are consistently trying to break our own innovative records. Throughout the month of July, we’ll be introducing you to how we’re helping to diagnose nutritional deficiencies and define individual nutritional status among patients.

Zinc

Randox Reagents

Randox Reagents have the highest quality reagents on the market and a test menu comprising of over 113 assays. Unique to Randox is the zinc assay which is important in the diagnosis of kidney and liver damage.

Our zinc assay can be used to measure the levels of zinc in a patient’s urine providing insight into the levels of zinc in the body. This, combined with our copper assay, can aid in identifying the cause of liver damage in a patient, leading to correct treatment and recovery.

The RX series

The RX series offers the most comprehensive testing profile for assessing nutritional status to identify any nutritional deficiencies or any other nutritional issues within an individual.

The RX series zinc test can identify a zinc deficiency in an individual which is often a result of a low dietary intake and can lead to many problems including impaired immune and cognitive functions, kidney disease and diabetes.

Randox Quality Control

World-leading diagnostics would be nothing without world-leading quality control materials to ensure consistency and accuracy across all results. The Randox Acusera Liquid Chemistry Premium Plus control is the most comprehensive chemistry control available.

Stay tuned over the course of the month as we highlight how we’re helping in the fight against nutrient deficiencies.

Homocysteine & Women’s Health

Posted on 27th June 2018 at 11:51 am.

Written by randoxlaboratories

Homocysteine is a thio-containing amino acid produced by the intracellular demethylation of methionine. Elevated levels of homocysteine (hyperhomocysteinemia) is more common in women than in men and is associated with a wide array of illnesses. It has also been proven to cause several problems in women including: cardiovascular disease (CVD), colon cancer, pregnancy complications, and birth defects.

Cardiovascular Disease

Elevated levels of circulating homocysteine correlates with an increased risk of vascular occlusion (blockage of a blood vessel). Hyperhomocysteinemia can cause inflammation of the endothelium (thin layer of cells linking the interior blood vessels). Failure to lower homocysteine levels can cause further inflammation of the arteries, veins, and capillaries causing atherosclerosis. Consequently, blood and oxygen supply to tissues is reduced, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Elevated levels correlates with higher diastolic and systolic blood pressure, hypertension. However, this correlation is stronger in women than in men. Women with elevated levels of homocysteine have a 3-fold increased risk of CVD, whereas men have a 2-fold increased risk.

Colon Cancer

Women with hyperhomocysteinemia have an increased risk of colorectal cancer than women with lower levels. Women who present with the highest levels of homocysteine have more than a 70% increased colorectal cancer risk. A correlation between reduced levels of folate and increased levels of homocysteine have been found in women with colorectal adenoma. It is recommended that women with hyperhomocysteinemia and reduced levels of folate should increase their intake of fruit and vegetables to reduce their levels of homocysteine and increase their levels of folate.

Pregnancy Complications and Birth Defects

Homocysteine levels should decline during pregnancy, however, in some cases, levels increase. Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with foetal neural tube defects which causes various conditions, characterised by placental vasculopathy, including pre-eclampsia, abruption, and recurrent pregnancy loss. It has been identified that folate supplementation can half the risk of foetal neural tube defects. One study found that hyperhomocysteinemia was associated with a 2-fold to 3-fold increased risk for pregnancy-induced hypertension, abrupyio placentae, and intrauterine growth restriction.

Randox Homocysteine Reagent

The Randox Homocysteine assay offers a few unique features:

Limited interference from Bilirubin, Haemoglobin, Triglycerides, and Intralipid, producing more accurate and precise results.
Two-reagent format for convenience and ease of use
Calibrator provided with kit, simplifying the ordering process

Other features include:

Liquid ready-to-use reagents – for optimum user experience
Excellent linearity – 47. 9 μmol/L, ensuring abnormally high levels of homocysteine are detected.
Enzymatic method
Tri-level cardiac control available

If you are a clinician or laboratory who are interested in running assays for women’s health, Randox offer a range of high-quality routine and niche assays including: Adiponectin, Cystatin C, Lipoprotein (a), and Zinc which can be used to diagnose conditions commonly affecting women. These assays can be run on most automated biochemistry analysers.

Instrument Specific Applications (ISA’s) are available for a wide range of biochemistry analysers. Contact us to enquire about your specific analyser.

For more information, visit: https://www.randox.com/homocysteine or email: reagents@randox.com

Randox Toxicology: The Next Wave in Drug Abuse

Posted on 22nd June 2018 at 12:15 am.

Written by Randox Communications

A letter published by The New England Journal of Medicine documented that officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Douglas C. Throckmorton, Scott Gottlieb and Janet Woodcock have warned that non-opioid painkillers could be at the forefront of the next wave of drug abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 42,000 deaths in the US were due to opioid abuse in 2016, with 40% of all opioid related deaths having involved prescription opioids. As a result, the FDA are encouraging doctors to prescribe alternative opioid drugs when possible and are developing new therapeutics to help people dealing with pain.

However, fears have been raised that curbing prescription opioid abuse could lead to opioid substitutes being used. Substances that are being closely watched include over the counter treatments; benzodiazepines and kratom.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are minor tranquillisers used to treat anxiety and insomnia. The effects include sedation, suppressing fits and making the user feel calm and relaxed. When mixed with other depressant drugs like heroin or alcohol, benzodiazepines can cause short term memory loss and nasty withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, anxiety and vomiting. These tranquillisers come in tablet form which people may crush or melt to inject, making them extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal.

Kratom

The tropical tree known as kratom, grows in marshy areas around Asia and contains the active chemicals mitragynine, mitraphylline and 7-hydroxymitragynine. The effects of taking kratom include an opiate like sedation and a stimulated state of alertness, whilst higher doses can trigger severe nausea and vomiting. Heavy use of the drug can also cause constipation, darkening of the skin, insomnia, dry mouth and anorexia.

Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in women? Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, accounts for 27% of all female deaths. That’s much higher than what is commonly thought to be the biggest killer of women – breast cancer. At Randox, we’re using our innovative technology to diagnose CVD cases as early as possible so appropriate treatment can be sought.

The Randox clinical product range offers a wide range of products to combat heart issues including the RX series extensive cardiac testing panel, reagents such as H-FABP, Adiponectin an TxB Cardio and an extensive cardiac QC range available in both liquid & lyophilised format.

You can find out more about how Randox is helping to diagnose women’s health issues, such as CVD, here.

What is CVD?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general terms for conditions that affect the heart and/or blood vessels. It is usually associated with the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots.

CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK but can often largely be prevented with a healthy lifestyle.

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

This occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced

Stroke

A stroke is where the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, which can cause brain damage and possibly death. A transient ischaemic attack (also called a TIA or “mini-stroke”) is similar, but the blood flow to the brain is only temporarily disrupted.

Causes of CVD

The exact cause of CVD isn’t clear, but there are lots risk factors that can increase your risk of getting it. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chances of developing CVD. Risk factors include:

High blood pressure
Smoking
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Inactivity
Being overweight or obese
Family history of CVD
Ethnic background

Preventing CVD

Stop smoking
Have a balanced diet
Exercise regularly
Maintain a healthy weight
Cut down alcohol consumption

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Randox has developed the RX series of clinical chemistry analysers for superior semi-automated and fully automated testing. The RX series extensive dedicated test menu goes beyond routine testing and has many unique and high-performance tests available. Our range of tests covers many tests for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiac diseases.

Cardiac Panel

Cholesterol	CRP Full Range(0.3-160mg/l)	Direct LDL Cholesterol	sLDL
CK-MB	CRP High Sensitivity	Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP)	Triglycerides
CK-NAC	Digoxin	Lipoprotein(a)	TxB Cardio
CRP	Direct HDL Cholesterol	Myoglobin	Adiponectin

Our world leading test menu of high quality reagents guarantees excellence in patient care ensuring unrivalled precision and accuracy reducing costly test re-runs or misdiagnosis and offering complete confidence in results.

The RX series clinical chemistry analysers provide laboratories with a robust and smart solution ensuring you maintain a consistent workflow and can provide accurate results first time, every time. Offering excellent customer support services, our trained engineers are on hand to work with you in preserving the continuity of your operations while maximising the potential of your RX series instrument.

For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/

Women’s Health: Testing for CVD

Posted on 20th June 2018 at 10:05 am.

Written by Randox Communications

You can find out more about how Randox is helping to diagnose women’s health issues, such as CVD, here.

What is CVD?

CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK but can often largely be prevented with a healthy lifestyle.

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

This occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced

Stroke

Causes of CVD

High blood pressure
Smoking
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Inactivity
Being overweight or obese
Family history of CVD
Ethnic background

Preventing CVD

Stop smoking
Have a balanced diet
Exercise regularly
Maintain a healthy weight
Cut down alcohol consumption

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Cardiac Panel

Cholesterol	CRP Full Range(0.3-160mg/l)	Direct LDL Cholesterol	sLDL
CK-MB	CRP High Sensitivity	Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP)	Triglycerides
CK-NAC	Digoxin	Lipoprotein(a)	TxB Cardio
CRP	Direct HDL Cholesterol	Myoglobin	Adiponectin

For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/

You can find out more about how Randox is helping to diagnose women’s health issues, such as CVD, here.

What is CVD?

CVD is one of the main causes of death and disability in the UK but can often largely be prevented with a healthy lifestyle.

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

This occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced

Stroke

Causes of CVD

High blood pressure
Smoking
High cholesterol
Diabetes
Inactivity
Being overweight or obese
Family history of CVD
Ethnic background

Preventing CVD

Stop smoking
Have a balanced diet
Exercise regularly
Maintain a healthy weight
Cut down alcohol consumption

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Cardiac Panel

Cholesterol	CRP Full Range(0.3-160mg/l)	Direct LDL Cholesterol	sLDL
CK-MB	CRP High Sensitivity	Heart-Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP)	Triglycerides
CK-NAC	Digoxin	Lipoprotein(a)	TxB Cardio
CRP	Direct HDL Cholesterol	Myoglobin	Adiponectin

For more information visit: https://www.randox.com/clinical-chemistry-analysers/

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Women’s Health

Posted on 18th June 2018 at 9:24 am.

Written by randoxlaboratories

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by pain, swelling and stiffness in joints which commonly affects the hands, wrists and feet. Whilst both men and women can suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, it is more commonly seen in women than men.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common autoimmune disease with a higher prevalence rate compared to lupus, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis.

(Simmons, 2013)

The incidence rates of rheumatoid arthritis differ between men and women. The onset of RA occurs much earlier for women, for most, during their 30’s and 40’s. In an American study, it was noted that the incidence rates peak for women around the ages of 55 to 64, compared to 75 to 84 years of age for men.

(Simmons, 2013)

As most women are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in their 30’s and 40’s, a study found that the diagnosis negatively impacts both the body and mind of women, as indicated in their pain, disease activity, and quality of life scores. This is due to women being diagnosed at a time when their burdens are the heaviest as this is the time when women are most likely to have children or are raising children combined with work and socialising.

Changes in hormone levels also impacts women. It has been noted that before a menstrual period, women find the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis to be more severe, but settles during their cycle. Also, due to the changes in hormone levels during pregnancy, 50 – 60% of women with rheumatoid arthritis noticed that their symptoms improved.

The key to managing rheumatoid arthritis is to start the treatment as early as possible as it can halt or slow the disease, preventing joint damage and complications, including: osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Rheumatoid arthritis increases the risk of heart attack by 60%. To start treatment as early as possible, it is important that it is diagnosed as early as possible.

Randox offer a number of key assays for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid factor is the most routinely run test to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis as 80% of rheumatoid arthritis patients test positive for rheumatoid factor. The Randox Rheumatoid Factor reagent offers the following benefits:

Wide measuring range of 6.72 – 104lU/ml for the accurate measurement of clinically important results
Accurate assessment of rheumatoid factor titre (calibrant standardised against primary WHO material; 1^st British Standard 64/2)
No interference from complement C1q
Automated immunoturbidimetric assay
Applications available for a wide range of biochemistry analysers, detailing instrument-specific settings

It has been found that complement C4 and CRP upregulation indicates the middle to late stages of rheumatoid arthritis.

The Randox Complement C4 reagent offers the following benefits:

Wide measuring of 3.41 – 152mg/dl for the accurate measurement of clinically significant results
Limited interferences from Bilirubin, Haemoglobin, Intralipids, and Triglycerides, producing more accurate results
Automated immunoturbidimetric assay
Applications available for a wide range of biochemistry analysers, detailing instrument-specific settings

The Randox High-Sensitivity CRP reagent offers the following benefits:

Wide measuring of 0.477 – 10mg/l fir the accurate measurement of clinically significant results
Liquid ready-to-use reagents for convenience and ease of use
Applications available for a wide range of biochemistry analysers, detailing instrument-specific settings

RTS: The Dangers of Psychoactive Substances

Posted on 15th June 2018 at 12:15 am.

Written by Randox Communications

Psychoactive substances, formerly known as legal highs, are substances which produce the same or similar effects as many illegal drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine. With many psychoactive substances it is extremely difficult to know their potency and therefore how they will affect the user.

They are divided into four main groups:

Sedatives – Cause reduced concentration and slowing of reactions, leading user to feel physically unsteady and lethargic.

Hallucinogenic – These substances cause psychedelic reactions which can lead the user to act erratically, putting their own safety at risk.

Stimulants – Substance temporarily causes increase in alertness and energy, while also putting a strain on the nervous system.

Synthetic Cannabinoids – Large doses can lead to life-threatening intoxication. Also effects the central nervous system causing seizures, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and increased body temperature.

Incidents

Last month two men were arrested and jailed for four and a half years for selling psychoactive substances. The offences were committed in Scotland and eight of the men’s customers needed hospital treatment after taking the substances.

Free samples and loyalty cards were used by the men selling the psychoactive substances and two users were left in comas after taking a substance known as Psyclone. Court was told that the shops took in as much as £2,500 in sales every day.

The sister of a man who died from taking psychoactive substances said it changed her brother “mentally and physically.” BBC Scotland was told that he started dabbling with psychoactive substances because he believed they were legal. “Some of them were a substitute of heroin, others to mimic the effects of cannabis. He became very withdrawn with the family and just wanted to stay away.”

Randox Testing Services

At Randox Testing Services we reacted to the issues caused by psychoactive substances by releasing the world’s first Synthetic Cannabinoids (JWH/AM) and ‘Bath Salt’s’ (MPDV) tests in 2012. This enables companies to test for popular types of psychoactive substances and showed that it was possible to detect these substances.

However as new psychoactive substances emerged new tests also had to be created and next generation Synthetic Cannabinoids tests (UR144 and JWH250) were released in 2013. These tests represented a milestone in the fight against the highly dangerous psychoactive substances and provided a way for laboratories and companies to stay on top of the developing drug trends.

Psychoactive Substances we currently screen for;

Today, in the endless pursuit of creating innovative tests for new and emerging psychoactive substances, our expertise sets us apart from the rest of the industry. We will continue to develop our test menus and grow our range of tests.

For more information contact us today at testingservices@randox.com.

June focus: Women’s Health

Posted on 5th June 2018 at 1:30 pm.

Written by Randox Communications

Randox is dedicated to improving health worldwide. Throughout the month of June we hope to highlight how the Randox clinical product range can ensure accurate and swift diagnosis and, by doing so, improve women’s health. We can do this by allowing for necessary steps to be taken post-diagnosis. A common-held misconception is that breast cancer is the biggest threat to a woman’s health, however, the biggest health risk to women statistically is heart disease which accounts for roughly 27% of female deaths. The Randox clinical product range offers a wide range of products to combat heart issues including the RX series extensive cardiac testing panel, reagents such as H-FABP, Adiponectin an TxB Cardio and an extensive cardiac QC range available in both liquid & lyophilised format.

Randox Reagents

Randox Reagents have the highest quality reagents on the market and a test menu comprising of over 11 8 assays covering over 100 disease markers. Several of these reagents will play a key role in diagnosis in women such as Randox’s Lipoprotein (a) – Lp(a) test, The Randox Lp(a) offers swift and accurate diagnosis of elevated circulation Lp(a) levels which is significant for women as they have an increased risk of CVD due to elevated levels of Lp(a). Several traditional CVD risk markers, including elevated LDL may be absent in some women, elevated Lp(a) levels may identify women at high risk of developing CVD.

RX Series

The RX series range of clinical chemistry analysers offers the most comprehensive testing profile for assessing health in males and females. Urinary tract infections are more commonly found in women and the RX series extensive renal function panel will provide clarity in terms of a woman’s urological health by testing for 19 separate analytes, including microalbumin. The RX series microalbumin test can detect very low levels of albumin in urine and if albumin is detected it can be an indicator of kidney injury and can result in irreversible damage. To view the full RX series test menu click here.

Quality Control

The Randox Acusera Maternal Screening quality control is the only commercially available control which covers all six analytes used during first and second trimester screening of Down’s syndrome and Spina Bifida. Instrument-specific target values and ranges are provided for AFP, Inhibin A, PAPP-A, β hCG, Total hCG and Unconjugated Estriol. The inclusion of PAPP-A and Inhibin A eliminates the need to purchase additional controls at extra expense.

RIQAS

The RIQAS Maternal Screening EQA programme is designed to monitor the performance of screening tests used during the first and second trimester of pregnancy to assess the risk of Down’s syndrome, Spina Bifida and Trisomy 18. 100% human serum ensures commutability while the lyophilised material allows for enhanced stability. Monthly reporting allows laboratories to become aware of issues and remedy them early.

Get in touch with our clinical divisions here.

Discussing Companion Diagnostics with Dr Miguel Quesada-González

Posted on 4th June 2018 at 3:12 am.

Written by Randox Communications

You may have heard of Companion Diagnostics. This type of diagnostic provides information that is essential for the safe and effective use of a corresponding drug or biological product. It can help to stratify groups of patients which will respond safely to a clinical drug trial, and those who may suffer undesirable side effects.

But why are Companion Diagnostics useful?

Randox Biosciences Pharma Relationship Manager Dr Miguel Quesada-González, PhD has the answer.

“As part of my new role, I’ll be supporting drug development and clinical trials. So as a scientist by background (the nature of the beast) I’ve been reading into and researching this incredibly interesting area of science.

“Since Day 1, Companion Diagnostics (CDx) especially caught my eye.

“When it comes to new drug development, either for Pharma or Biotech, there are many benefits of running a CDx. Based on well-acknowledged scientific papers that I have read, and my own personal perception of the current situation, I’d like to summarise and simplify in just 2 bullet points, what I personally believe to be the most important benefits of running a CDx.

“(a) Delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.

“We should never forget that our priority is the health and integrity of patients. It’s been proven that patients who have similar diagnoses very often respond differently to the same treatment. This variability presents a risk in both the efficacy of the treatment and the safety of the patient.

“The development of a drug is already a risky, long and costly process, so wouldn’t you like to avoid the initial high risk by having a good defined target initially?

“(b) Saving time.

“Money is valuable but time even more so. Time is precious and priceless. Once it’s gone, there’s nothing we can do about it!

“The smaller and more targeted the clinical trials are, the less time and resources you’ll be spending. Normally, the CDx is not initiated until a drug has reached the later stages of development, but, actually, if you put the CDx in place at early development stages (preclinical) it presents many advantages because it enables the selected biomarker to be validated and determined before large amounts of resources have been put in place.

“The faster a potential treatment is developed and approved, the more people you can save, cure or simply improve their quality of life.”

For further information on Companion Diagnostics from Randox Biosciences please email us at info@randoxbiosciences.com

Dr Miguel Quesada-González, PhD, Randox Biosciences Pharma Relationship Manager

We Are Randox | Life in Australia with Tanya Galewski

Zinc

Randox Reagents

The RX series

Randox Quality Control

What is CVD?

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Causes of CVD

Preventing CVD

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Cardiac Panel

What is CVD?

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Causes of CVD

Preventing CVD

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Cardiac Panel

What is CVD?

Types of CVD

Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Causes of CVD

Preventing CVD

How is Randox helping to detect CVD?

Cardiac Panel

To find out more, contact us for further information

Randox Laboratories Mailing List