Thermo Fisher Scientific bags USFDA clearance for Preeclampsia risk assessment assays

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening blood pressure disorder that can occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity worldwide, with incident rates that have increased rapidly in the United States over the last decade.

These new assays are designed to be used along with other laboratory tests and clinical assessments to aid in the risk assessment of pregnant women who have been hospitalized for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy to determine if they are at risk of progressing to preeclampsia with severe features within the next two weeks.

“Thermo Fisher is committed to advancing diagnostic solutions for reproductive health as part of our broader Mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer,” said Alan Sachs, chief medical officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “The clearance of these breakthrough biomarkers will have a significant impact on prognosis and treatment for thousands of women at risk for preeclampsia every year in the U.S.”

Testing of the blood-based biomarkers, B·R·A·H·M·S sFlt-1 KRYPTOR and B·R·A·H·M·S PlGF plus KRYPTOR, aids in the detection of the development of severe preeclampsia as validated by the PRAECIS study, which examined 18 U.S. hospitals, looking at more than 700 pregnant women across the country. Women who test positive, based on the risk stratification ratio of the two assays (sFlt-1/PlGF ratio ≥ 40), could receive enhanced surveillance and accelerated care before severe features develop.

“FDA clearance and availability of these novel biomarker tests throughout the country will allow caregivers to better manage and potentially improve outcomes for both mothers and their newborns,” said Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH, executive vice president of health affairs at Emory University and co-author of the PRAECIS study.

"Patients and providers will benefit from having better tests to predict progression to preeclampsia with severe features, especially for those patients at risk of severe, early-onset disease or for whom there is some diagnostic uncertainty," said Eleni Tsigas, chief executive officer at the Preeclampsia Foundation. "Our organization celebrates this result after many years of advocacy with leaders in research and regulatory bodies, such as the FDA, to accelerate the development and adoption of better clinical tools."

These new assays are designed to run on the Thermo Scientific B·R·A·H·M·S KRYPTOR compact PLUS clinical chemistry analyzer. Using TRACE technology, based on Nobel Prize winning chemistry, the analyzer can deliver results in less than 30 minutes.