Mobidiag Releases First Microarray Based Rapid Test for Herpesvirus Iden...( Prove-it Herpes Offers Considerable C...)

Prove-it Herpes Offers Considerable Cost Savings for Healthcare Industry by

Identifying Eight Herpesviruses Simultaneously

HELSINKI, Finland, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Finland-based biotechnology company Mobidiag today announced the new Prove-it(TM) Herpes test for the fast and reliable identification of herpesviruses. The microarray-based test takes less than three hours to complete and enables simultaneous identification of eight different human herpesviruses. Herpesviruses cause life-threatening central nervous system infections (CNSI), and rapid diagnosis improves likelihood of recovery. The new test is initially intended for research purposes, and Mobidiag plans to acquire European approval for use in clinical diagnostics later this year.

"Market potential for the product is enormous. In Europe alone, over 100 million euros are spent annually on herpesvirus diagnostics. We believe that Prove-it(TM) Herpes will gain a considerable slice of that market," says Jaakko Pellosniemi, CEO of Mobidiag. "What makes Prove-it(TM) Herpes unique is that it combines different technologies and integrates them into a single easy-to-use and capable product," Pellosniemi continues.

In addition to illnesses such as labial herpes, chickenpox and roseola, herpesviruses can also cause serious central nervous system infections such as encephalitis. Without appropriate treatment, mortality rate from these infections can be as high as 50%. The sooner the pathogen is detected, the higher the likelihood of recovery. However, virus detection may be slow with current methods, and in severe suspected virus infection cases, medication is often started merely as a precaution. There are roughly four million of these suspected cases annually in the Industrial World, making testing and treating potential infections very expensive.

The Mobidiag test can detect and identify the viruses many times faster than conventional methods. Appropriate antivi
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