Not-for-profit Boston Children’s Hospital will have majority interest in a new lab testing company. Claritas Genomics will be based in Waltham, Massachusetts, and will develop genetic and molecular diagnostic testing solutions. Life Technologies Corporation is a partner in the new company. Boston Children’s Hospital is incorporating into Claritas the “expertise, assets and personnel of the hospital’s Genetic Diagnostic Lab, a CLIA-certified center that already offers more than 100 genetic tests, including many specialized diagnostics developed at Boston Children’s.” This venture is expected to be a model that not-for-profit hospitals will follow as a way to access new sources of capital for growth and expansion.
FDA CLEARS NEW LUMINEX ASSAY
Luminex Corporation of Austin, Texas, announced FDA clearance of its xTag Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP). This multiplex assay “simultaneously tests for 11 of the most common gastroenteritis-causing viruses, bacteria, and parasites.” The assay can deliver results in as little as five hours. This test has already been cleared for clinical use in Europe. GPP is another example of how molecular technologies are shortening the time-to-answer when testing for infectious diseases.
TRANSITIONS
- Earl Buck recently announced his semi-retirement. He will continue to provide consulting services for Chi Solutions, Inc., on a part- time basis. He has also formed EC Buck & Associates, LLC, for certain consulting projects. Buck held executive positions at MDS Laboratories and Sonora Laboratory Sciences. He also participated in the founding of the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) at its inception in 1975.
- Sonic Healthcare USA has appointed Ken Botta as its new Vice President, Western Operations. Past positions held by Botta were at Cleveland Heart Lab, SED Laboratories, AmeriPath, Dynacare, Laboratory Corporation of America, and National Health Laboratories.
- Todd G. Johnson was appointed as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Pathway Genomics Corporation of San Diego, California. Johnson has previ- ously served with Abbott Laboratories, Ventana Medical Systems, Biocept Laboratories, Insight Health, and Laboratory Corporation of America.
Dark Daily Update
Have you caught the latest e-briefings from DARK Daily? If so, then you’d know about…
…the news that the Supreme Court will take up the issue of patenting of human genes during this session. Plaintiffs in this case include the Association of Molecular Pathology. The defendant is Myriad Genetics.
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