Bridge from

Science to Business

Diagenics SE ist ein biopharmazeutisches Unternehmen mit Sitz in Luxemburg.

Unser einzigartiges Modell schlägt die Brücke zwischen Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft.

Produkte

DIACORDON - POCT

POINT-OF-CARE TEST

The Point Of Care Test (POCT) is the successor of the ELISA Test and an important supplement for the emergency ambulances. It is a quick and qualitative test for making the first decisions. Point Of Care Tests are always advantageous, since they can provide a diagnosis without the laboratory support.

DIACORDON™ POCT is a stripe test (lateral flow), which also functions on the GPBB basis. Its various layers are plated with small traces of monoclonal catch-antibody of GPBB. Another antibody, responsible for the colouring, is applied on the other side. Once the blood sample runs on the absorbent strap on the antibody track, GPBB is caught by the antibodies and made visible with the help of the antibody colouring. 50 µl are enough to gain a solid result. The time for testing only takes about 15 minutes.

Until now there is no early and reliable heart specific test. Therefore, it is very difficult for doctors to rule out an infarction incidence without invasive diagnostics. Diagenics offers its patented GPBB blood test for an indication group, which knows no other alternatives. Thus, DIACORDON™ is progressive in the field of heart diseases diagnostics.

Another interesting patient group endorses those who had an open heart operation and who often suffer from a destruction of the heart muscle cells under use of a heart-lung machine. DIACORDON™ can help monitoring these patients within the first 12 to 18 hours (as long as GPBB is traceable) after the operation.

The well defined goal of Diagenics is to establish DIACORDON™ as a “gold standard” for the diagnosis and monitoring of myocardial ischemia. Once the first results can be confirmed, the test can be initiated for use as a rapid test in ambulances, in emergency rooms, in doctor offices or next to the patient bed.

The test is simple, fast, safe, dependable and sensitive. At the moment there are discussions with leading active pharmaceutical companies concerning its marketing worldwide.

DIACORDON - ELISA

LABORATORY TEST

DIACORDON™ is a blood test for the early detection of cardiac infarction. It works on an enzyme basis and can detect Glycogen-Phosphorylase Isoenzym BB (GPBB) via an antibody owned by Diagenics.

The enzyme GPBB enters the bloodstream as soon as a myocardial ischemia occurs. In the long run such an insufficient oxygen supply leads to a necrosis of the affected cells and/or eventually to an infarction. Moreover, the detection of GPBB in the blood provides information about the progress of the coronary syndromes (including unstable angina pectoris) and classic cases of heart attack. In this way it contributes decisively to the diagnosis of heart infarction patients.

There are already markers, such as myoglobin and troponin, which contribute to the diagnosis and are routinely applied in cases of a myocardial infarction. Myoglobin, however, has the disadvantage of not being heart specific. It can also be detected after damages of the skeletal muscles or after acute renal failure and thus does not give a clear answer. Troponin, on the other hand, is heart specific, but can only be detected three to six hours after the first symptoms (chest pain).

GPBB is not only heart specific but also early detectable, i.e. within the first hour. For the case of acute coronary syndromes this is a vital advantage, since a quick and exact diagnosis can save lives.

Research & Development

Forschung und Entwicklung

DIACORDON™ FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCTIONS

Product development is the most important pillar of any successful biotechnology company. In cooperation with various partners Diagenics researches and develops innovative diagnostic products.

Myocardial infarction is still the most frequent cause of death. Especially in times when the lifestyle of many people is marked by insufficient physical exercise and unhealthy eating habits the risk of a heart attack is increasing.

Poor blood circulation (ischemia) in certain areas of the heart muscle leads to the death of heart muscle cells. Depending on the size of the affected area this can cause severe direct or indirect damage and even be lethal. After the acute phase is over, the size of the area with long-term damage is still a decisive factor for the patient’s health.

All patients with respective symptoms (chest pain, paleness, cold sweat, fast pulse rate) are classified under coronary syndrome and are treated accordingly. 25% of the cases treated by emergency doctors are of this type. Early diagnosis as well as quick medical treatment are critical for the survival of the patient. The quicker it happens the higher are the patient’s chances of survival.

Each heart attack is a race against time. Approximately two thirds of the deaths caused by a heart attack occur during the pre-hospitalization phase; a whole of 50% of the death cases occur one hour within onset of symptoms. Thus, the doctor has but little time to open the clogged blood vessel. Therefore, the best prospects of success are in the first hours after the occurrence of symptoms.

Some heart attack patients show atypical symptoms, which are hard to classify. The adequate medical treatment of these patients demands high precision (specificity) of the tests that determine whether an infarct was present.

In these cases Diacordon shows a second advantage, apart from its quality as a quick test: This test has a very high specificity and is therewith highly reliable in the diagnosis of heart attack.

Mode of Action: Flash Animation

Flash-Animation zur Wirkungsweise

The following Flash Animation illustrates and explains the mode of action of the Diacordon products.

Click here to watch the Flash Animation.