Salt Lake City, Utah – November 6, 2001 ARUP Laboratories, Inc., a Utah-based clinical reference laboratory, and Scantibodies Clinical Laboratory, Inc., a subsidiary of California-based Scantibodies Laboratory, Inc., announced today that they will partner to offer improved parathyroid disease testing to help doctors more accurately identify patients with primary hyperparathyroid disease and monitor secondary hyperparathyroid disease in dialysis patients. Over the last 25 years Scantibodies has been an innovator in the development of parathyroid hormone (PTH) tests that are used to detect and monitor parathyroid diseases. Their third-generation PTH tests are available under the marks CAP™, CIP™ and CAP™/CIP™ ratio.

Under this joint agreement, ARUP will be responsible for marketing and servicing this new technology and will collect and report results on patient samples from across the nation. Scantibodies will then perform a series of third-generation parathyroid hormone assays on these patient samples.

“We are pleased to be taking this expansion step forward with our improved PTH technology,” says Tom Cantor, president of Scantibodies. “The collaboration with ARUP Laboratories allows physicians and ultimately patients a broader access to the clinical benefits of this improved diagnostic technology.”

In the United States, 50,000 people each year are diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroid disease. Using the CAP assay, physicians may now detect over 90 percent of patients with even mild forms of primary hyperparathyroidism. Statistics available from studies show that the CAP assay has less overlap between normal and mild hyperparathyroidism, resulting in an improved detection rate of 96 percent, compared to the older second-generation intact PTH assay of 72 percent.

Additionally, the over 300,000 patients receiving dialysis in the United States each year require accurate assessment of bone turnover and parathyroid function prior to treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Scantibodies' CAP/CIP ratio assay provides relative levels of authentic PTH and its inhibitor. For a patient who is not yet receiving bone-affecting treatment, a CAP/CIP ratio of less than one indicates that he or she has adynamic low bone turnover disease, and consequently should not be placed on vitamin D analog treatment. A ratio of one or greater indicates that the patient has normal or high bone turnover and can be considered, if necessary, for vitamin D analog treatments. Moreover, following treatment, physicians may avoid oversuppression by monitoring the level of CIP. CIP and the CAP/CIP ratio assays are significantly more accurate than the second-generation intact PTH assay, and may help physicians better stratify treatment to decrease conditions of soft tissue and vascular calcification, which are leading causes of complications and death for dialysis patients.

“We are excited about this partnership,” remarks Ronald L. Weiss, M.D., ARUP's senior vice president. “One of ARUP's priorities is to offer the medical community access to innovative new technologies that may improve the quality of patient care. Emerging third-generation PTH assays are one such area that we continue to evaluate.”

ARUP Laboratories is a national full-service reference laboratory owned by the Department of Pathology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. ARUP is a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development, led by the efforts of the ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, LLC. With revenue of greater than $140 million and more than 1,300 employees, ARUP offers over 2,000 tests and test combinations, ranging from routine cytology screens to highly esoteric molecular and genetic assays. ARUP's clients include university teaching hospitals, multihospital groups, major commercial laboratories, group purchasing organizations, military and government facilities, major clinics, and major pharmaceutical firms.

Scantibodies Laboratory, Inc. (SLI), established in 1976, is a privately-owned California corporation with 400 employees and a mission to improve patient care through innovative immunoassays designed to more accurately diagnose disease and monitor therapeutic effectiveness. Scantibodies Clinical Laboratory, Inc. (SCL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SLI with the main focus of providing third-generation PTH diagnostic services.

Contact Information:

Scantibodies' Web site at www.scantibodies.com.