Luminex Corporation Receives FDA and European Clearance for a New Personalized Medicine Genotyping Assay, xTAG® CYP2C19 Kit

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) today announced it has received U.S. FDA and European clearance for a comprehensive genotyping assay, xTAG® CYP2C19 Kit.  This new test enables a personalized approach to aid physicians in determining patient treatment plans based on certain genetic variants of the P450 2C19 gene.

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"Since cytochrome [CYP450] enzymes are responsible for metabolizing over half of all drugs on the market today, it is important for a physician to have valuable information to determine whether a patient's specific genotype may impact their drug response," said Patrick J. Balthrop, president and chief executive officer of Luminex.  "Our growing portfolio of pharmacogenetic assays include both FDA cleared and CE marked xTAG CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 assays demonstrating our commitment to offer testing laboratories regulatory cleared assays that are safe and effective for use as an aid in patient management decisions."

Cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) is a clinically important gene that encodes a phase one drug metabolizing enzyme. The CYP2C19 enzyme is responsible for metabolizing a variety of prodrugs and drugs used to treat a number of conditions such as ulcers, seizures, malaria and anxiety.  It is also important in metabolizing drugs such as beta-blockers, anti-clotting agents and some antidepressants.

Genetic variations in the CYP2C19 gene can result in distinct drug metabolizing phenotypes leading to sub-optimal drug responses, such as drug toxicity, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), or inadequate therapeutic effect. The FDA Adverse Events Reporting system (FAERS) estimated nearly 800,000 ADRs in the U.S. and Europe combined for the year 2011.¹ The incidence of serious and fatal ADRs has been rising with the increase in the number of medications prescribed. An estimated $3.5 billion is spent on additional medical cost associated with ADRs annually and at least 40% of ambulatory ADRs may be preventable.²

Luminex's xTAG CYP2C19 Kit is an IVD assay that analyzes a patient's CYP2C19 genotype from genomic DNA extracted from EDTA or citrate anticoagulated whole blood samples to aid clinicians in determining therapeutic strategy for therapeutics metabolized by the cytochrome P450 2C19 gene product.  The assay is run on the versatile Luminex® 100/200™ or MAGPIX® instruments.

More information on xTAG CYP2C19 Kit v3 can be found at www.luminexcorp.com/2C19.

About Luminex Corporation:
Luminex is committed to applying its passion for innovation toward creating breakthrough solutions to improve health and advance science. The company is transforming global healthcare and life-science research through the development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary instruments and assays utilizing xMAP® open-architecture multi-analyte platform, MultiCode® real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and multiplex PCR-based technologies, that deliver cost-effective rapid results to clinicians and researchers. Luminex's technology is commercially available worldwide and in use in leading clinical laboratories, as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic, biotechnology and life-science companies. Luminex is meeting the needs of customers in markets as diverse as clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical drug discovery, biomedical research including genomic and proteomic research, personalized medicine, biodefense research and food safety. For further information on Luminex Corporation and the latest advances in multiplexing using award winning technology, please visit http://www.luminexcorp.com/.

Sources:

1. FAERS Domestic and Foreign Reports by Year. FDA. (internet). 2012 June 30; cited 2013 June 24. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Surveillance/AdverseDrugEffects/ucm070441.htm

2. Medication Safety Basics. CDC (Internet). Cited 2013 June 24. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety/basics.html

Contacts:

Luminex Investor Contact
Harriss Currie, 512.219.8020
Sr. Vice President of Finance and CFO
[e-mail]

Luminex Media Contact
Mimi Torrington, 512.219.8020
Director of Marketing Communications
[e-mail]

SOURCE Luminex Corporation

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