Clarient Launches New Internet-Based PATHSiTE(TM) Flow Cytometry Program
Clarient, Inc., a leading provider of specialized cancer diagnostic services and cellular imaging technologies, today announced the launch of its new Internet-based PATHSiTE Flow Cytometry program. Flow cytometry is the technology used in a family of sophisticated diagnostic tests that combines hydrodynamics and a powerful light source, usually a laser, to isolate and analyze cells of interest. Over the past decade it has become an important tool in cancer diagnostics. The PATHSiTE program will provide pathologists nationwide with remote access to Clarient’s flow cytometry expertise as well as the industry’s latest instrumentation and software technology needed to effectively analyze specimen data. This access is primarily provided through a web-based portal that allows Clarient’s clients to perform diagnoses and interpretations based on the technical data provided by flow cytometry instruments at Clarient’s laboratory in Irvine, CA.
Clarient’s intent is to continue the expansion of its Diagnostic Services offering by providing clients access to the highest level of technology and quality in the pursuit of improved patient care. In this pursuit, Clarient is for the first time providing community pathologists and other members of the medical community with flow cytometry options not widely available in the marketplace. These features include historical archives of flow cytometry data needed to follow patients through the course of their disease pre- and post-treatment. Other features include the use of specific antibody tube configurations developed by Clarient laboratory and pathology experts following years of experience reviewing thousands of clinical cases at major commercial and academic centers around the country.
Clarient’s Chief Medical Officer Kenneth Bloom, M.D. said, “We are very pleased that we can extend the availability of our technology and clinical practices to our pathology partners in an effort to optimize patient care. Our offering utilizes intelligently selected antibody tube configurations that allow for a comprehensive analysis of the submitted specimen or a more restricted analysis for specific disease states such as multiple myeloma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Advances in cancer management mandate on-line, real-time access to the flow cytometry study, including the report and all of the raw data used by the pathologist. Access to this detailed information will allow the physicians to carefully monitor and identify subtle changes in a patient’s biological behavior pre- and post-treatment, making Clarient the ideal partner in the cancer diagnostics marketplace.”
This internet-based offering is a convenient, safe and secure method for providing Clarient’s clients with the same pathology services remotely using the latest clinical applications. Web-based flexibility also provides the needed turnaround time, electronic lab integration and interaction clients require to provide the best possible patient care.
CEO Ronald A. Andrews, Jr. said, “Our new Diagnostic Services offering demonstrates our commitment to partner with pathologists nationwide. With recent reimbursement changes in the area of flow cytometry, many facilities may not be able to offer the same level of patient care by providing the latest clinical technologies, large antibody libraries, or highly trained lab technicians. Clarient’s ability to incorporate best practices and economies of scale allows us to provide higher levels of diagnostic service to our clients in an increasingly complex patient care environment.”
The annual flow cytometry market related to cancer testing in the U.S. is estimated by industry analysts to be approximately $600 million.
About Clarient, Inc.
Clarient provides market leading technologies, services and expert support for the characterization, assessment and treatment of cancer, leading to more accurate diagnoses by pathologists, more confident treatment decisions by oncologists, a more efficient way to identify and develop pharmaceuticals and, ultimately, better outcomes for patients. A majority-owned subsidiary of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., Clarient was formed in 1997 to develop and market the Automated Cellular Imaging System (ACIS). This digital imaging and assessment system allowed pathologists, for the first time, to obtain reliable, reproducible quantitative results for a broad range of slide-based diagnostic tests. In 2005, the ACIS and other leading diagnostic technologies such as flow cytometry and genetic testing were brought in-house to a state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory and surrounded by a team of premiere cancer specialists, forming the Clarient laboratory services business. This facility and the Clarient team support the efforts of pathologists and the biopharmaceutical industry as a central resource for cancer diagnostics, disease interpretation, remote pathology, and contract research operations.
Clarient’s mission is to provide critical information to clinicians that will improve the quality and reduce the cost of patient care, and speed drug discovery. Many of the top clinical laboratories, hospitals, university medical centers and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States and Europe are currently using Clarient technology and services. Clarient and ACIS are registered trademarks of Clarient. For more information, visit www.clarientinc.com .
About Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) is a strategic growth partner for companies in the Time-to-Volume stage of development. Time-to-Volume companies are those that are generating revenues from a commercially viable product or service, but are facing new challenges as they scale their businesses to meet market opportunities. Focused primarily on the information technology and life sciences sectors, Safeguard generally acquires majority ownership interests in companies at this stage of growth. In addition to expansion capital, Safeguard provides its companies a wide range of operating and managerial expertise to drive their successful growth to become market leaders. For more information about Safeguard and its strategy, visit www.safeguard.com .
