New GP Desk Top Test to Aid the Diagnosis for Bowel Cancer and IBD in 10 Minutes, Saving the NHS Over £200 Million Per Year in Avoidable Endoscopies

News provided by

Ferring Pharmaceuticals

25 Jun, 2013, 08:00 GMT

LONDON, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ltd today launched a simple, rapid point-of-care test to support the diagnosis of bowel cancer and Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) in the GP's surgery. 

PreventID® CalScreen® is a simple test to see if a patient has elevated levels of an inflammatory marker found in faeces called calprotectin; this is present in patients with diseases such as bowel cancer or IBD.

Results are obtained within 10 minutes, meaning that this test will enable doctors to decide the appropriate course of treatment as quickly as possible.

Dr. Raian Sheikh from Mansfield has been piloting the use of the calprotectin test in primary care: "The opportunity to do more for these patients in primary care and reduce the burden on secondary care is a very important issue. One implication could be that the patient stress associated with hospital visits, the delays in getting results and, importantly, the costs, are all significantly reduced."

PreventID® CalScreen® costs £12.50 (about 1% of the cost of a more expensive endoscopy). Roughly a third of the patients who are referred for diagnostic endoscopies turn out to have Irritable Bowel Syndrome which could have been treated without going to hospital. Avoiding these could save the NHS over £200 million/year - this is equivalent to around £1 million per Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

"Crucially, this addresses one of the key needs of the NHS where the principal drive is moving as much treatment out of expensive secondary care toward primary care where significant efficiencies in the provision of the healthcare can be achieved," said Steve Howson, General Manager, Ferring UK Ltd. "This 'personalised treatment' is being discussed at the British Society of Gastroenterology meeting this week and is a significant step towards individualised patient care."

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group active in gastroenterology, reproductive health, urology and endocrinology. Ferring has its own operating subsidiaries in 50 countries and markets its products in more than 90 countries. To learn more about Ferring or its products please visit http://www.ferring.com.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ltd has signed a distribution agreement with healthcare company Biohit Healthcare. The agreement gives Ferring the right to distribute PreventID® CalScreen® to primary healthcare systems in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. http://www.biohithealthcare.com

Biohit Oyj is a globally operating Finnish biotechnology company established in 1988. Biohit's mission is "Innovating for Health". The purpose of the company is to take social responsibility and produce innovation, new technologies and analysis systems for use in medicine, research institutions and industry, helping to promote research and diagnostics and to improve the quality of life of people by means of preventing disease, human suffering and financial loss. We are committed to social responsibility and it is our duty to spread knowledge about the Group I human carcinogen, acetaldehyde, and innovate and develop the marketing and availability of our products and services. Biohit is headquartered in Helsinki and its subsidiaries are located in China, Italy and the United Kingdom. Since 1999, Biohit's Series B shares (BIOBV) have been listed in the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Oy Small cap/Healthcare sector. http://www.biohithealthcare.com.

Notes for editor

  • 32% of endoscopes for chronic abdominal symptoms are avoidable
  • The waiting time for referral to a consultant for many patients is 2-3 months
  • The PreventID® CalScreen® test is under review for use by NICE
  • Chronic abdominal symptoms are associated with: IBS (20,000 per 100,000 population), IBD (400 per 100, 000 population), GI cancer (50 per 100,000 population)
  • PreventID®CalScreen® - Simple screening test for Faecal Calprotectin in Primary Care
    • Differential diagnosis of IBD and IBS in patients with chronic bowel problems can be difficult and often involves costly and invasive examinations.
    • The PreventID® CalScreen® from Preventis is an ideal support for Primary Care in the decision when to refer to a specialist gastroenterologist for follow-up.
    • The immunological rapid test determines the inflammation marker calprotectin in stool and distinguishes with a cut-off at 50 μg/g between inflammatory (≥50 μg/g) and non-inflammatory (< 50 μg/g) diseases. The test thereby allows a reliable classification of IBD and IBS patients.
    • This discrimination serves as a swift decision aid for further diagnostic procedures in first-line screening of patients with intestinal problems.

For further information contact Paul Keirnan
paul@experthealthcommunications.co.uk
+44(0)77-9964-7978