AXIS-SHIELD AND ABBOTT PARTNER TO DEVELOP DIABETES IMMUNOASSAY Dundee, Scotland and Abbott Park, Illinois, 12 April, 2010 -- Axis-Shield (LSE:ASD, OSE:ASD) and Abbott (NYSE :ABT ) announced today that they have entered into an agreement to develop and commercialize a haemoglobin (HbA1c) immunoassay to run on Abbott's flagship ARCHITECT® high throughput analyser system. The test, which will be designed to be used to monitor treatment efficacy in patients with diabetes, will incorporate novel Axis-Shield technology from pioneering research at its Dundee plant. Recently, an international expert committee of diabetes specialists recommended that the marker be used as the front line test to diagnose diabetes in the laboratory for appropriate patients. The International Expert Committee included representatives from the American Diabetes Association, the European Association of Diabetes and the International Diabetes Federation."With an estimated 220 million people worldwide with diabetes and that number likely to more than double by 2030 without major intervention, the development of the ARCHITECT HbA1c immunoassay highlights our commitment to support physicians in diagnosing the disease and ensuring patients get the right care as soon as possible," said Mike Warmuth, Senior Vice President, Diagnostics, Abbott. The R&D group at Axis Shield has already developed a proprietary HbA1c test under the AxSYM® xtra programme, allowing measurement of this important marker on Abbott's widely placed AxSYM immunoassay system."The agreement with Abbott to provide this important diagnostic test on its state-of-the-art ARCHITECT system complements our previous development of an HbA1c assay for AxSYM. The HbA1c test is already available on our AfinionTM and NycoCard® point-of-care systems and represents a significant and rapidly growing revenue generator for Axis Shield, and we are well placed to capitalise on the growing demand for this important analyte," said Ian Gilham, CEO, Axis-Shield. Enquiries: Axis-Shield plc Tel: +44 (0)2031787849 Ian Gilham, Chief Executive Officer Ronny Hermansen, Finance Director Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0)207 831 3113 Jonathan Birt / Mo Noonan Abbott Media Tel: (847) 937-3655 Darcy Ross Abbott Financial Tel: (847) 935-9390 Tina Ventura Notes to Editors: About Axis-Shield Axis-Shield is an international in vitro diagnostics company, headquartered in Dundee with R&D and manufacturing bases in Dundee and Oslo. The Group specialises in the supply of instruments and tests for the rapidly growing physician's office testing market and the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative proprietary diagnostics kits in areas of clinical need, including cardiovascular and neurological diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, sepsis and diabetes. For more information on Axis-Shield, please refer to www.axis-shield.com. About Abbott Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs approximately 83,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at www.abbott.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END
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