OXFORD, United Kingdom and MARLBOROUGH, Mass., June 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oxford Immunotec Global PLC (Nasdaq:OXFD), a global, high-growth diagnostics company, today announced that it applauds updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).
The AAP guidelines include specific recommendations for the use of interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs), such as Oxford Immunotec’s T-SPOT.TB test. The recommended age for IGRA use has been lowered from five years to two years in the updated guidelines, which were published in the AAP’s 2018 Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID). The Red Book contains a composite summary of current recommendations representing the policy of the AAP on various aspects of infectious diseases and is issued every three years.
“These updated recommendations closely follow the recent publication1 of a multi-year study demonstrating the strong performance of our T-SPOT.TB test in children, including those below the age of five,” said Dr. Peter Wrighton-Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Immunotec. “We are delighted to see expanded support for the use of our test in this important patient population.”
1 Mandalakas AM, Highsmith HY, Harris NM, et al. T-SPOT.TB Performance in Routine Pediatric Practice in a Low TB Burden Setting. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2018; 37(4):292-297. This study included pediatric samples received at Oxford Diagnostic Laboratories between 2010 and 2015. The authors concluded that the T-SPOT.TB test provides evaluable results in 98% of children, including HIV-infected and young children. In nearly 44,000 tests, the invalid rate of T-SPOT.TB was determined to be less than 1% for children older than 12 months and 1.8% for children younger than one year.
About Oxford Immunotec
Oxford Immunotec Global PLC is a global, high-growth diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary tests for the management of underserved immune-regulated conditions. The Company's first product is the T-SPOT.TB test, which is used to test for tuberculosis infection. The T-SPOT.TB test has been approved for sale in over 50 countries, including the United States, where it has received pre-market approval from the Food and Drug Administration, Europe, where it has obtained a CE mark, as well as Japan and China. The Company's second product line is a range of assays for tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease. The Company is headquartered near Oxford, U.K. and in Marlborough, Mass. Additional information can be found at www.oxfordimmunotec.com.
T-SPOT and the Oxford Immunotec logo are trademarks of Oxford Immunotec Ltd. Immunetics is a trademark of Immunetics, Inc.
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