CHILLY-MAZARIN, France, December 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

InGen BioSciences today announced that it has acquired the leading European In Vitro Diagnostic Tetanos Quick Stick®test which ensures optimal management of at risk patients in case of wound in Emergency Departments.

Founded in 2001, InGen BioSciences is specialized in the development of mono and multiparametric in vitro diagnostic tests. With the acquisition of Tetanos Quick Stick®, InGen BioSciences makes another strategic move closer to its goal of becoming a best-in-class solutions provider.  

Indeed, tetanus is still a prevalent disease as estimated by the World Health Organization in European region and the USA in the 1990s to be 0.8 and 0.16 per million inhabitants, respectively.^[1,2]

Though tetanus infections can be effectively prevented by prophylactic vaccination, worldwide there is an estimation of  309,000 deaths per year due to this disease.^[3]

Specific mortality due to tetanus has remained around 0.4/million inhabitants in France for example since 1994.^[4] The at-risk categories are the elderly, women and immigrants, as reported in France ^[5], as well as in the United States.^[6]According to the guidelines, measures to prevent tetanus in these patients (essentially, appropriate wound cleaning and the injection of immunoglobulins and/or vaccine) should depend on wound characteristics and the patient's immunization status^[7], but most patients seen in the emergency department do not carry certificates and are unaware of the date of their last vaccination^[5]. Standard technique to assess patients' tetanus immunity is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)^[8], which requires 48-72 h to obtain results. Therefore unscheduled tetanus prophylaxis is erroneous in over 40% of cases^[5,9], tetanus immunoglobulins are overprescribed in 17-30% of patients despite the risks of inoculation^[4] and suboptimal in 5-10% of patients who are generally poorly protected with the most tetanus-prone wounds.^[5,9]

"The TQS® is a rapid, predictive test for evaluating individuals' protection against tetanus and is, up to now, the most sensitive and specific tool to help manage tetanus prophylaxis in an emergency context" states Pr. David  Elkharrat, Emergency Medico-surgery Department at Ambroise Paré Hospital, Boulogne Billancourt, France.

The acquisition, via ZenTech, of the Belgium company Gamma and it's well-known IVD Tetanos Quick Stick® significantly strengthens InGen BioSciences Group's position in the high-growth IVD market and creates an exciting opportunity for our people, as they've closely worked with worldwide biologists on TQS® which benefits since 10 years to offer the best possible outcomes for patients", comments Isabelle Buckle, Chief Executive Officer of InGen BioSciences "Our model based on offering integrated, concrete best-in-class solutions to present and future needs of healthcare professionals in the rapidly evolving field of diagnostics and on reinforcing our geographic presence in Europe and the United States is even more dynamic now and will be soon fuelled with strategic partnerships and in-house developments of serology and immunodiagnostics products. We strongly believe that partnering with local companies that share our customer oriented approach, for the distribution of Tetanos Quick Stick® to our European and American biologist customers will result in improving personalised unscheduled tetanus prophylaxis."

Since its foundation, InGen BioSciences has experienced 19 per cent compound growth (CAGR) and counts 65 employees (of whom 20% are dedicated to R&D). Its first proprietary product, BJI InoPlex™, non-invasive and easy to use tool for detection of infections in pre- and post-operated implants for orthopedic surgeons, infectious diseases specialists and other healthcare professionals, was launched earlier this year.

Notes to Editors

About the InGen BioSciences Group

The ambition of excellence.

The InGen BioSciences Group,   - a flexible, reactive, client centric company striving for optimum innovation (products and services) to meet the needs of biologists for their patients -  develops and markets (proprietary or license) advanced in vitro  diagnostic kits and automats for clinical use.

• Its current customers are hospitals, private laboratories, blood transfusion services and research laboratories
• Its primary focus is on infectious diseases and immunology, including HLA/transplantation, Auto-immunity, Complement products, Research products, Virology, Bacteriology, Parasitology, Hormonology, Quality control products (Virology, Biochemistry, Toxicology, Blood gas, tumor markers and software), Rapid tests:  Tetanos Quick Stick, OSOM Strep A. Its technologies: Elisa, Western/ dot blot, IFA, Molecular biology, LCT, Luminex.
• The company has historical footprint in France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and strong brand recognition in Europe with  25 longstanding partnerships
• Turnover reached 21M€ in 2010, including out-sourced products.
• The Group's distribution arm, InGen, supplies with seamless services a large selection of high-performing reagents combined with platform analysis to roughly 750 European customers.
• The Group's R&D arm, InGen BioSciences, specialised in protein identification, cloning and production and in the development of mono and multiparametric tests- integrating regulatory affairs and engineers- , brings innovative tests to market that are minimally invasive, fast, cost-effective, and clinically relevant. Over 15 patent families, 39 patent applications are currently registered.
• Quality insurance at Ingen Biosciences Group: ISO 9001 (2008) and 13485 (2004)
• Sustainable strategic alliances are keys for Ingen Biosciences Group to pursue its mission in delivering innovative solutions to unsolved matters worldwide with IVD companies for product distribution, acquisitions & geographic expansion or with academics, biotech and pharmas for companion tests, in-licensing, co-development & in-house development of proprietary technologies.

For more information please visit: http://www.ingenbiosciences.com

About ZenTech

With a revenue close to 4.5 million Euros in 2011 and 38 employees, the Belgian company ZenTech develops, manufactures and commercialises In Vitro Diagnostics specifically developed for pathologies occurring in the EARLY LIFE stages, from conception to adolescence (foetus, newborn and child) and in the diagnostic of chronic diseases affecting both children and adults. Zentech kits are dedicated to Clinical Biology laboratories and outperformed diagnostic because of its rapid test performance. Pursuing its strategic development, Zentech has acquired in 2006 a Belgian biotechnology company called Gamma, specialised in immunological techniques for IVD use, and sold it to InGen BioSciences in 2011.

About In Vitro Diagnostics 

IVDs are tests performed in vitro on biological samples to diagnose or rule out a disease.

• The information provided by in vitro tests is the basis for improved medical decisions at a low cost
• Used for disease screening, therapy monitoring & blood safety assessment, they are a basis for personalized medicine  & cost-effective healthcare.
• IVDs regroup a broad application scope ranging from sophisticated technologies to simple self-tests (e.g. pregnancy tests).

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements", including but not limited to the statements by Pr. David  Elkharrat, Mrs Buckle and other statements regarding research and development outcomes, efficacy, adverse reactions, market and product potential, product availability and other statements regarding IVDs, BJI InoPlex™ and TQS®. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from Ingen Biosciences's expectations and projections. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, general industry and pharmaceutical market conditions; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in the research and development and regulatory processes; challenges related to new product marketing, such as the unpredictability of market acceptance for new products and/or the acceptance of new indications for such products; inconsistency of treatment results among patients; potential difficulties in manufacturing a new product; general economic conditions; and governmental laws and regulations affecting domestic and foreign operations.

References

1. Pascual F B, Mc Ginley E L, Zanardi L R. et al Tetanus surveillance, United States, 1998-2000. MMWR Surveill Summ 2003. 521-8.8. [PubMed]

2. World Health Organization Centralized information system for infectious diseases (CISID). http://data.euro.who.int/cisid (accessed 13 July 2007)

3. Vandelaer J , Birmingham M , Gasse F , et al . Tetanus in developing countries: an update on the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative . Vaccine 2003 ; 21 : 3442 - 3445 .

4. Antona, D. 24 April 2001. Le tétanos en France en 2000 et 2001. http://www.invs.sante.fr/beh/default.htm. [Online.]

5. Elkharrat, D. et al. 1999. Impact of guidelines to alter antitetanus prophylaxis practices and reduce costs in the emergency department. Am. J. Ther. 6:203-209.

6. Talan, D. A., et al. 2004. Tetanus immunity and physician compliance with tetanus prophylaxis practices among emergency department patients presenting with wounds. Ann. Emerg. Med. 43:305-314.

7. Lombard, I. 1993. Le tétanos en France en 1991 et 1992. Bull. Epidemiol. Hebdomadaire 28:125-126.

8. Simonsen O, Bentzon MW, Heron I. ELISA for the routine determination of antitoxic immunity to tetanus. J Biol Stand 1986;14:231-9.

9. Talan DA, Abrahamian FM, Mower WR, et al. Tetanus immunity and physician compliance with tetanus prophylaxis practices among emergency department patients presenting with wounds. Ann Emerg Med 2004;43:305-14.

Media contacts
For any further information please contact:
Bahar Turkoglu, CCA France bturkoglu@ccapr.com or +33(0)1-41-43-02-27

SOURCE InGen BioSciences