Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) today announced that Pathwork Diagnostics
Inc. will begin offering a molecular diagnostic test based on the
Affymetrix microarray platform. The Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test is
one of the first microarray-based diagnostic tests for cancer in the
United States. The test is being made available through the recently
CLIA-certified Pathwork®
Diagnostics Laboratory.
There are an estimated 200,000 patients with uncertain primary tumors,
including Cancer of Unknown Primary, in the U.S. each year.1,2,3
One study concluded that in particularly challenging cases, the primary
tumor site is identified only 25 percent of the time using traditional
diagnostic tools.4 The Pathwork Tissue of
Origin Test is designed to help oncologists determine the primary site
of a metastatic tumor with greater certainty.
“The Affymetrix technology enabled us to
develop a test that uses the power of genomic information to aid in the
diagnosis of uncertain tumors,” said Deborah
J. Neff, president and chief executive officer of Pathwork Diagnostics. “Ultimately,
we believe the Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test will improve patient
outcomes while saving the healthcare system money. We can now offer the
test through our CLIA-certified laboratory and we are actively working
with the FDA to obtain clearance that will allow us to also offer a
diagnostic kit directly to clinical laboratories.”
“Affymetrix is partnering with innovative
molecular diagnostic companies like Pathwork Diagnostics to bring about
new diagnostic tests that can provide more efficient and complete
methods to better diagnose, classify and manage complex diseases like
cancer,” said Kevin King, president of
Affymetrix. “Affymetrix offers the only
microarray instrumentation system that has been cleared for molecular
diagnostic laboratories in the U.S. and E.U., and we continue to work
with our partners to further facilitate this broad adoption of
array-based diagnostic tests and help make personalized medicine a
reality.”
Affymetrix is the only company to offer a continuous path to discover,
develop and commercialize complex biomarker signature assays. The
company partners with the leading diagnostic companies through its
Powered by Affymetrix™ (PbA) program. The
Affymetrix GeneChip® System 3000Dx is the
only microarray instrumentation platform to receive regulatory clearance
by the U.S. FDA and to be CE marked in the European Union for in vitro
diagnostic use. The CLIA-certified Affymetrix Clinical Services
Laboratory (ACSL) offers microarray-based molecular diagnostic patient
and clinical trial testing services that enable customers to leverage
Affymetrix’ technology and experience to
bring more effective molecular diagnostic tests to patients faster than
ever before. There are currently more than 20 different molecular assay
tests based on the Affymetrix platform under development by Affymetrix
and its 11 PbA Partners.
About Affymetrix
Affymetrix GeneChip®microarray
technology is the industry-standard tool for analyzing complex genetic
information. After inventing microarray technology in the late 1980s,
Affymetrix scientists have been dedicated to developing innovative
products that provide researchers with a more complete view of the
genome. These products continue to accelerate genetic research and
enable scientists to develop diagnostics and tailor treatments for
individual patients by identifying and measuring the genetic information
associated with complex diseases.
Today, Affymetrix technology is used by the world’s
top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as
leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes.
More than 1,700 systems have been shipped around the world and more than
12,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.
Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and has
manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., Cleveland, Ohio, and
Singapore. The company has about 1,100 employees worldwide and maintains
sales and distribution operations across Europe and Asia. For more
information about Affymetrix, please visit the company’s
website at www.affymetrix.com.
Forward-looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not historical are “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements
regarding Affymetrix’“expectations,”“beliefs,”“hopes,”“intentions,”“strategies”
or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially for Affymetrix from
those projected, including, but not limited to: risks and uncertainties
relating to commercial success of the agreement with Pathwork®
Diagnostics Tissue of Origin Test discussed in this press release; risks
of the company’s ability to achieve and
sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins and reduced
operating expenses; uncertainties related to technological approaches,
manufacturing and product development; personnel retention;
uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products;
dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties related to
sole-source suppliers; risks associated with past and future
acquisitions; uncertainties relating to FDA and other regulatory
approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual property of
others and the uncertainties of patent protection and litigation. These
and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix’
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and other SEC reports,
including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly
periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix’
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statements are based.
NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo and GeneChip®
are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.
1 Pavlidis N, Fizazi K. Cancer of Unknown
Primary (CUP). Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2005;54:243-250.
2 Tong KB, Murtagh KN, Hubert HB, et al.
Incidence, costs of care and survival of Medicare beneficiaries
diagnosed with carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP). Poster presented at
annual meeting of Association for Molecular Pathology; November 17,
2006; Orlando, FL.
3 Pathwork Diagnostics analysis.
4 Hillen HF. Unknown primary tumours. Postgrad
Med J. 2000;76:690-693.