On stand 64 at BSG 2017, Alpha Laboratories’ expertise in diagnostics for digestive health management, brings together innovative products for the digestive diseases patient pathway.
Alpha Laboratories has been at the forefront of faecal testing in the UK for nearly 20 years, initially as the market leader for guaiac-based faecal occult blood testing. Tender wins for bowel screening in all four UK countries followed, as each launched its own screening programme.
Continuing to provide leading edge products, the Company is currently introducing the first faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) method for screening, having been awarded the contract for quantitative FIT as the front line test in the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. England will also be moving to a quantitative FIT method in the near future.
In addition, NICE has recently reviewed the use of FIT to triage patients with low risk of colorectal cancers. This will ultimately lead to an improvement in the patient care pathway and a reduction in colonoscopy referrals, similar to that experienced with the introduction of calprotectin. Alpha Laboratories is actively working with NICE to incorporate FIT into the pathway for patients with suspected lower GI cancer. There are a number of hospitals in the UK already using the HM-JACKarc FIT system, with a cut-off of 10µgHb/g faeces (which has a high NPV for cancer), as an effective method of reducing colonoscopy referrals.
With its extensive experience in faecal diagnostic indicators Alpha Laboratories has championed calprotectin testing for more than a decade and supported the NICE review (DG 11) of calprotectin for differentiation between IBS and IBD. As calprotectin testing has developed, the BÜHLMANN assay range has continued to evolve. This has enabled us to work in partnership with clinics and laboratories, providing solutions for improved patient care and management, throughout the pathway for both screening and monitoring.
The BÜHLMANN IBDoc® is a CE marked assay enabling IBD positive patients to perform quantitative calprotectin tests in the comfort of their own home. Results are communicated to the clinician via smartphone technology enabling a customised, patient centric approach for therapy. Come and discuss how this approach improves patient care and can be used to help triage patients for the most effective use of valuable clinic space.
The BÜHLMANN Quantum Blue® rapid Anti-TNFα drug monitoring assays can also enable tailored therapy, resulting in improved patient care and cost effectiveness by allowing timely decision making for dose adjustments before the next infusion.
We would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate these products on the stand, or discuss evaluations in your clinic or hospital.
