Veterinary pharmaceutical company Genitrix aims to introduce the first rapid, point of care Acute Phase Protein Test to the veterinary market following the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Tridelta Development Limited.  Tridelta is a subsidiary of Accura Animal Health Plc (ACPO), the PLUS market-listed veterinary pharmaceutical and diagnostics company.
 
According to Genitrix, the monitoring of Acute Phase Proteins is well established in human medicine as it can provide an ‘early warning system’ of disease.  The proteins are either absent or present at very low concentrations in the blood when an individual is healthy but their levels rise rapidly in response to infection or inflammation, increasing up to 1,000 times compared with levels detected under normal conditions. Genitrix believes that the Acute Phase Protein Test will offer vets a quick and cost-effective way of establishing the general health of an animal before committing their client to specific and potentially expensive tests.
 
The Acute Phase Protein Test under development will be canine specific and is the first in a planned series of veterinary diagnostic products.  It will be produced in a convenient, single use format and Genitrix expects to launch it to the UK veterinary community in early 2009.
 
Howard Wilder, Managing Director of Genitrix said: "We believe the Acute Phase Protein Test will prove a valuable addition to the veterinary surgeon’s toolkit and it also offers the potential to generate a significant revenue stream.
  
"Many vets we talk to say they often have to exclude full blood tests from annual wellness checks they offer for dogs because pet owners are reluctant to pay for them.  They are put off because they may not perceive the relevance and they can be expensive. 
 
"This is where the Acute Phase Protein Test can help as it provides a quick, affordable ‘red light/green light’ view as to the animal’s state of health – a solution which we believe will be more attractive to pet owners.  If a potential problem is detected, the vet can go on to recommend appropriate further blood testing and imaging.  We also believe this type of testing will also be helpful, for instance, in checking that dogs are healthy enough to be vaccinated and in monitoring the performance of treatment or therapy."