LabNow Saliva Cardiac Technology Selected for Popular Science’s 2008 “Best of What’s New”

Jan. 23, 2009 - PRLog -- The saliva cardiac chip technology currently under development at the McDevitt Research Laboratory  (University of Texas at Austin) has been selected for Popular Science's 2008 – Best of What's New in the health category.  This technology shows great promise for true point-of-care CRP (C-reactive protein) testing by physicians, EMT and other healthcare providers. “For 20 years, Popular Science’s Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that a make positive impact on life today and change our views of the future,” says Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “PopSci’s editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list, there’s no higher accolade Popular Science can give.”

Results of the JUPITER study released earlier this month showed that the statin drug Crestor (AstraZeneca) sharply lowered the risk of heart attacks in patients who wouldn't normally take a cholesterol-lowering drug. Study participants that benefitted from the drug had normal levels of bad cholesterol but high levels in their blood of C-reactive protein, or CRP, which signals inflammation in the body. AstraZeneca said it will apply for approval from the Food and Drug Administration for a change to the drug's label.  This change, if approved, will allow them to promote Crestor for use in people with high CRP.  AstraZeneca CEO, David Brennan, said that use by this new population will depend in part on how widely testing for CRP is adopted. Previous studies have shown a link between high CRP levels and heart disease, but few physicians currently test for CRP. "For all the excitement, we need to remind ourselves that we are only at the starting gate with CRP," Mr. Brennan said.

LabNow has an exclusive commercial licensing agreement for this promising technology from the University of Texas at Austin and is actively seeking development partnerships for its commercialization.  “The results from the Jupiter Study increases the population of potential statin users and illustrates the need for broader CRP testing; this application of our platform technology is the perfect candidate to fulfill that need,” said LabNow Chairman and CEO, Rick Hawkins.

About LabNow

LabNow, Inc., seeks to improve global health and safety through the deployment of simple, rapid, point-of-need laboratory testing. The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, has licensed novel, platform lab-on-a-chip sensor technology from The University of Texas at Austin (UT). The technology has the capability to automate complex fluid analysis quickly, accurately and at lower cost than current methods. The microfluidics sensor technology has broad uses in medical, homeland security, environmental chemistry and process engineering applications. LabNow anticipates the launch of its point-of-care CD4 diagnostic system Q4 of 2009.

About Best of What's New

Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What's New — are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 11 categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green Tech, Home Entertainment, Securites, Home Tech, Personal Health and Recreation.