Third Wave strikes deal with Kaiser Permanente on cystic fibrosis reagents

MADISON - Third Wave Technologies has announced the launch of its Invader cystic fibrosis genotyping analyte-specific reagents. In conjunction with Invader’s premiere, the company announced a new partnership with Kaiser Permanente, the largest non-profit health plan in the United States, to supply the new reagents.

“They will be an important customer,” said Rod Hise, director, corporate communications of Third Wave. “The agreement is important because their selection of our technology is a validation of our technical application to important diseases, in this case cystic fibrosis, and also because Kaiser will use the tests in two labs that do the bulk of the testing for HMO patients.”

Invader, which will be purchased and installed by Kaiser, will allow laboratories to develop individual assays for each of the 25 cystic fibrosis genetic mutations recommended for screening by the American College of Medical Genetics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, plus 19 other important cystic fibrosis mutations. The new product is designed to complement the company’s existing Invader cystic fibrosis screen.

“The immediate adoption of this new product by an organization of Kaiser Permanente's stature clearly validates the value of the technology and further positions Third Wave in the molecular diagnostic market," said John Puisis, president and chief operating officer of Third Wave.

With the deal, Third Wave hopes to grow its clinical division. “Kaiser does a large volume of this type of testing … [the agreement represents] meaningful efforts in a clinical setting,” Hise said.

Kaiser-affiliated hospitals, medical centers and clinics will incorporate the new Invader product into their service offerings beginning in April 2004.

Third Wave is a Madison-based Third Wave Technologies develops and markets molecular diagnostics for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications.