Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Adopts Third Wave's Invader Screen

MADISON, Wis. -- Third Wave Technologies Inc. today announced that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has selected the company's Invader analyte-specific reagents* (ASRs) exclusively for its cystic fibrosis (CF) genetic screening.

AFIP, the central reference laboratory for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Health Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, will use Invader to screen select U.S. military personnel for genetic mutations associated with CF to determine whether those individuals are carriers for the disease. In 2001, the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued recommendations calling for all couples seeking preconception or prenatal care to be screened for 25 mutations in the CF gene.

"We strive to employ cutting-edge technology for all of our genetic testing, particularly for a disease as serious as cystic fibrosis," said Jack H. Lichy, M.D., Ph.D., director, AFIP Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory. "In assessing Third Wave's Invader technology, we were particularly impressed with the performance, ease of use and throughput of the tests we developed using Invader analyte-specific reagents. We believe the company's CF screen will allow us to achieve overall performance and efficiency advantages."

In addition, the technology allows AFIP to automate its CF screening process and use its existing laboratory hardware, streamlining its workflow.

"We expect the number of test requests to double or triple as more and more Army facilities seek out our expertise," Dr. Lichy said. "We also think that the Air Force and Navy will find this to be a cost-saving alternative to their current programs."

CF is an autosomal recessive disorder, which means a copy of a mutated gene must be inherited from each parent in order for a baby to be born with the disease. A large percentage of individuals who carry CF gene mutations are unaware that they are carriers. The level of genetic testing for CF has increased dramatically since ACOG and ACMG issued their screening recommendations in 2001.