Warnex to Perform LC/MS and PCR Services for Pharmacogenetic Study of Gleevec for Novartis

Warnex Inc. has announced that it will perform pharmacogenetic and bioanalytical services for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis), a leader in the healthcare field. These services involve Novartis' Blood Level Monitoring Program for Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate), a medication approved for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and gastro-intestinal stromal tumours.

"Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are increasingly using genetic tests to determine patient response to their medication," said Mark Busgang, President and CEO of Warnex.

"This contract demonstrates our ability to leverage our genomic expertise and our bioanalytical capabilities to provide a unique, comprehensive service offering to pharmaceutical companies," he continued.

The goal of the Gleevec® Blood Level Monitoring Program is to provide practicing physicians with clinically relevant information to help monitor and optimize patient treatment. Physicians may monitor their patients for reasons of adherence concerns, suspicion of drug-drug interaction, a less than expected response to Gleevec® or side effects that are unusually severe for the dose of taken.

Warnex's Bioanalytical Services division will test Gleevec® blood levels to help identify non-adherence or suboptimal dosing. Warnex uses high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), a highly specific and sensitive method to perform bioanalysis in blood samples.

In addition, Warnex's Medical Laboratories division will use pharmacogenetics to determine if the patients have specific chromosomal abnormalities in order to evaluate the effect of the medication based on genetic conditions. Warnex's diagnostic tests are performed using the highly sensitive and reliable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to detect genetic abnormalities during the course of a patient's treatment.