Dade Behring Sublicenses CRP Test to Roche

A nonexclusive sublicense for the development, manufacture, and marketing of a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) immunoassay for cardiovascular risk assessment has been granted by Dade Behring (Deerfield, IL, USA) to Roche Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland).

"We at Dade Behring feel it is extremely important to make this test available to patients throughout the world,” said Jim Reid-Anderson, chairman, president, and CEO, Dade Behring.

The high-sensitivity CRP assay will broaden Roche's cardiac diagnostics menu, which currently includes troponin-T and NT-proBNP (N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide) tests. The American Heart Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended against using inflammatory makers to screen the entire adult population. However, their Expert Panel did conclude that measurement of high-sensitivity CRP is an independent marker of risk in people judged to be at immediate risk (10-20% risk of coronary heart disease over 10 years) and may be useful in determining the need for further evaluation and therapy in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

The Expert Panel also concluded that for patients with stable coronary disease or acute coronary syndromes, high-sensitivity CRP measurement may be useful as an independent marker for assessing likelihood of recurrent events.

"We are pleased to be able to provide our customers with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein assays also in the rapidly growing field of cardiovascular risk assessment,” said Heino von Prondzynski, head of Roche Diagnostics and a member of the corporate executive committee.




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