RAMP Flu A Demonstrated to be More Sensitive Than Other Rapid Tests

Response Biomedical Corp. have successfully achieved their analytical sensitivity targets for the RAMP Flu A Test. It is intended that the test be commercialized for both human and animal applications. Using a variety of Flu A strains, the performance results to date indicate that the RAMP Flu A Test produces results that are in excess of 100 times more sensitive than commercially available rapid influenza A tests.

This superior level of performance is particularly important as leading public health agencies continue to express caution about the lack of sensitivity and related performance limitations of currently available rapid Flu A tests.

Response Biomedical also announced it has initiated development of a separate RAMP test to specifically identify only the H5N1 strain, and early feasibility testing has produced encouraging results.

"Since announcing our plans on October 24, 2005 to commercialize a high sensitivity Flu A test, we have received tremendous interest from government organizations and the private sector," said Bill Radvak, President and CEO. "These same organizations have expressed further interest in the prospect of a RAMP H5N1 Test."

As a result of these expressions of interest, Response Biomedical will be entering into collaborations with several government health organizations and international members of the World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance Network. These National Influenza Centers will evaluate the sensitivity of Response’s rapid RAMP Flu A Test across numerous flu strains and measure the sensitivity and specificity of the RAMP H5N1 Test for Avian Flu.

"In 2003, a similar collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory led to the RAMP West Nile Virus Test being validated as 100 times more sensitive than the leading commercially available rapid test within months of undertaking development,"added Radvak. "Our goal is to replicate the RAMP West Nile Virus Test commercial model and become a market leader in rapid clinical infectious disease testing by quickly validating RAMP’s significant performance advantages over available tests and leverage this competitive advantage to attract the optimum distribution partners."