Thermo Fisher Scientific Signs Agreement to Make its Biomarker Assays Available on Alere Triage Syst

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Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced it has signed a long-term license agreement with Alere Inc. to integrate its novel Thermo Scientific B.R.A.H.M.S. biomarker assays on Alere’s leading point-of-care Triage(R) platform. Alere, formerly Inverness Medical Innovations, is a global leader in rapid point-of-care diagnostics. Increased availability of biomarker-based testing on the Triage platform will lead to improved patient care in hospitals and primary care facilities.

"Alere’s extensive installed base of Triage equipment worldwide significantly strengthens our ability to make our biomarker tests available to a broader patient population," says Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. "Improving patient care while reducing the cost of diagnosing disease will provide a much needed boost to hospitals struggling to maintain service levels and remain competitive."

Thermo Scientific biomarkers that will become available on the Triage platform include the B.R.A.H.M.S. Procalcitonin (PCT) test, the gold standard for the early detection of sepsis in critically ill patients. Severe sepsis, a life-threatening blood disease, affects an estimated 750,000 hospitalized patients in the U.S. each year and is expected to increase to nearly one million by the end of the decade due in part to an aging population.

Alere will also adapt several other Thermo Scientific biomarkers for use on its Triage system, including B.R.A.H.M.S. Copeptin, MR-proADM and MR-proANP. These novel biomarkers are used to diagnose patients who experience symptoms such as chest pains or shortness of breath and seek treatment in a hospital emergency room. Approximately 15 million patients worldwide visit emergency rooms each year with symptoms that suggest a heart attack. The vast majority – 70% to 80% – are admitted unnecessarily and later found to be experiencing a variety of non-life-threatening conditions.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With revenues of nearly $11 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and serve customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as in environmental and process control industries. We create value for our key stakeholders through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, which offer a unique combination of continuous technology development and the most convenient purchasing options. Our products and services help accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, and solve analytical challenges ranging from complex research to routine testing to field applications. Visit www.thermofisher.com