News
Talecris pays for Canadian Alpha-1 phenotype testing at University of Florida after U of Alberta ends Alpha-1 testing
The following is from the Alpha-1 Canada newsletter:
You may have heard that over the last number of months getting a phenotype test for Alpha-1 has become very difficult in Canada.
Phenotyping is only done after a person’s alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) level has been measured and found to be low. Testing of AAT levels continues to be easily available throughout Canada. (See: “Testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: Measurement of AAT level is the first step” on the right side of this page).
The lab in Canada that performed the test was Dr. Diane Cox’s research lab at the University of Alberta (U of A). The U of A decided that they were in the research business, not the diagnosis business, and told Dr. Cox to stop doing this test as well as one for another rare disease.
Almost every organization with an interest in Alpha-1 has been scrambling to get the U of A to change its mind or come up with an alternative.
Alpha-1 Canada continues to try to convince the University to start doing the tests again. The board and Medical Advisory Board have spent countless hours on this issue and written to the University but to no avail.
We are pleased to announce that, although the efforts to change minds at the U of A continue, Talecris Biotherapeutics has come up with an alternative.
