Press Release

Osmetech plc, (“Osmetech” or “the Company”) the international diagnostics business, announces that the excellent results of a clinical study for its Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) sensor device have been reported in the latest edition of the leading international publication, the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

In 2003, Osmetech received 510(k) approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of its conducting polymer gas sensing (‘electronic nose’) device for determining a patient’s BV status. In this follow-up study the BV sensor device was effectively used to measure the levels of BV at regular intervals for patients undergoing treatment for the condition.

The study, conducted at the Baltimore City Health department and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, showed a very strong agreement between the results of the Osmetech test and those of the two established clinical methods of diagnosing BV: Amsel criteria (98% agreement) and Nugent score (94% agreement). These two current methods of testing have important limitations, being subjective, difficult and time-consuming to perform, requiring a high degree of expertise.

In conclusion, the Osmetech BV sensor device is as accurate as present techniques for measuring BV and for tracking the recovery of the patient throughout the course of treatment. Furthermore the simplicity of the test has the potential to be translated into an office based system.

James White, Chief Executive, Osmetech plc said:

‘This study demonstrates the effectiveness of Osmetech’s BV sensor in not only diagnosing BV, but also in assessing the patient through the treatment phase. The test is both objective and simple to perform, overcoming the principle shortcomings of existing testing methods. It also has the potential to become the first ‘gold standard’ test for BV diagnosis.

‘This is further validation of Osmetech’s electronic nose technology. Following last year’s highly successful acquisition of the OPTI business and the recent acquisition of Molecular Sensing plc, we now have three core technologies to enable us to provide product to satisfy the requirements of the global healthcare market.

‘We are currently focussing on near-term revenue generation but are delighted to have further third party verification of another potential opportunity for the conducting polymer technology in the point of care healthcare arena.’

Enquiries

Osmetech
James White, Chief Executive 0207 849 6027

madano partnership
Matthew Moth 0207 378 7033

Notes to Editors

• Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginitis symptoms among women of child bearing age. The condition affects 10-15% of women in the general female population, but an incidence as high as 40% has been reported among women attending sexually transmitted disease clinics. BV is associated with an increased risk for a host of obstetric, gynaecological, and neo-natal complications, including postoperative infection following hysterectomy, miscarriage, pre-term birth, post abortion pelvic inflammatory disease, plasma cell endometritis and human immunodeficiency virus infection.

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