CULVER CITY, Calif., April 17, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- CARESIDE, Inc. (AMEX:CSA), a provider of point-of-care (POC) blood analysis instrumentation and records management, announced today that it has been granted a U.S. patent covering the reagents used in its new blood clotting test cartridge for the Company's blood testing instrument, the CARESIDE Analyzer(R). The reagents in the cartridge allow the Prothrombin Time test to be performed rapidly and near the patient. The test can be performed within ten minutes after the blood specimen has been collected from the patient.
The reagents were developed and co-patented by Careside and Edison, NJ-based International Technidyne Corporation, which develops automated skin incision and blood coagulation technologies. The patent, No. 6,183,979, was issued on February 6, 2001. The patent relates to prothrombin time reagents prepared from recombinant tissue factor and synthetic phospholipids, a method for preparing the reagents under dry, ambient conditions and a method for using the reagents.
Careside Chairman and CEO W. Vickery Stoughton said, "This patent, along with our other patents related to the Careside technology, further secures our intellectual property position and our investments in these innovative technologies. As we develop and introduce additional tests to our product platform, we will continue to work diligently to protect our technologies."
The CARESIDE(R) Prothrombin Time (PT) test cartridge is the first on a small, portable instrument that separates the plasma from whole blood specimens to enable a better measurement of Prothrombin Time. Typically, point-of-care PT test instruments perform testing on unseparated whole blood, which may provide different results than PT performed on plasma. The PT test aids in the diagnosis of clotting disorders and monitors patients receiving anticoagulation therapy, such as the coagulation drug, Coumadin(R).
CARESIDE, Inc. markets a proprietary blood testing system including its CARESIDE Analyzer, a companion hematology system called the H-2000 Hematology Analyzer, and its CARESIDE Connect record management system linking the two devices into customers' laboratory or patient information systems. The CARESIDE Analyzer provides a cost-effective and efficient means of measuring blood chemistry, electrochemistry, and coagulation function near the patient by producing accurate test results within 15 minutes. CARESIDE, Inc. is one of the world's leading developers of advanced point-of-care blood testing technology. For more information on the Company, call (888) 698-2273 or access www.careside.com.
Safe Harbor: Statements in this press release regarding CARESIDE Inc. which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Key factors which may impact these statements include challenges inherent in product research, development, manufacturing and marketing, and the other factors discussed in the Company's prospectus filed October 2000. All such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented in or suggested by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements. Please see the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's prospectus and reports on file with the Securities Exchange Commission.