OPKO Health Receives FDA Approval for the Point-of-Care Sangia PSA Test with the Claros® 1 Analyzer
MIAMI, Feb. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s point-of-care Sangia Total Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Test using the Claros 1 Analyzer. The product is indicated to quantitatively measure total PSA in whole blood from a fingerstick of blood collected by a healthcare professional and is used in conjunction with a digital rectal exam as an aid in the detection of prostate cancer in men aged 50 years and older.
There are 25 million PSA tests performed in the United States annually. The Company plans to expand the number of assays on the Claros 1 technology platform through future submissions to the FDA, including a planned submission for a testosterone test later this year.
“We are pleased that the FDA has approved our point-of care Sangia PSA Test with the Claros 1 Analyzer. This approval contributes to our growing urology franchise and affords us the momentum to expand the test menu on the Claros 1 technology platform in the future,” stated Phillip Frost, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OPKO Health. “We believe that a PSA test that provides results in the physician’s office will significantly benefit the diagnostic paradigm for prostate cancer,” added Dr. Frost.
The Claros 1 Analyzer is a novel diagnostic instrument system that can provide rapid, quantitative test results in 10 minutes – right in the physician’s office. The Claros 1 incorporates cutting edge microfluidic technology in a credit card sized disposable test cassette. No external reagents or blood sample preparations are required. The microfluidic assay cassette is inserted into a desktop size Claros 1 Analyzer. Data supporting the approval of Sangia PSA test include field use studies at multiple clinics to demonstrate accuracy and sensitivity comparable to that obtained with FDA approved large analyzers used by central reference laboratories using large blood samples drawn from veins.
