North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad Research Park was the catalyst for a partnership to provide doctors with a postprandial hyperglycaemia blood test that can be analyzed in the physician’s office. Carolina Liquid Chemistries Corp. will market the GlycoMark blood test as one of a complete range of diabetes assays for the BioLis 24i bench top chemistry analyzer.

Carolina Liquid Chemistries, a manufacturer, distributor and service provider for reagents and chemistry systems, teamed up with GlycoMark Inc., the test manufacturer, to market a complete system for diabetes associated diagnostic tests. “There are 1.6 million people diagnosed with diabetes each year,” said Phil Shugart, president of Carolina Liquid Chemistries. “Through this partnership, we will promote a system for helping physicians manage this epidemic. The Biolis 24i is the only physician office instrument that offers a complete menu of the diabetic assays: HbA1c, glucose, fructosamine, insulin, kidney function tests and now GlycoMark, one of the most important tests for better management of diabetes and prevention of the devastating diseases that accompany it.”

Monitoring and controlling postprandial hyperglycaemia — the high blood glucose spikes a person experiences soon after eating — are key aspects of proper diabetes management. GlycoMark is an FDA approved, reimbursed, non-fasting blood test that monitors intermediate glycemic control and can be administered monthly.

“Because HbA1c only identifies a person’s average glucose level over time, it misses up to 40 percent of patients in near normal ranges (6.0 to 8.5 per cent) who are not in good glycemic control, ” said Eric Button, president of GlycoMark Inc. “This can lead to cardiovascular disease, retinopathy and other complications of diabetes. GlycoMark identifies peak glucose levels after a person eats, so physicians can identify those patients and prescribe the proper medications.”

Until now, GlycoMark was only available through reference labs, so physicians had to wait for results before prescribing treatment. Now, with the BioLis 24i, the physician’s office can perform the test on site and have the results within minutes. “The physician has same day results, can provide immediate feedback to the patient, and make treatment decisions and medication adjustments before the patient leaves the office,” Shugart said. There are more than 3,000 BioLis 24i chemistry analyzers in use worldwide. The BioLis 24i performs over 400 tests per hour, uses permanent reaction cuvettes instead of disposable and a water system instead of water cubes. It is also compatible with all LIS systems, which eliminates the need for paper documents.

Founded in Brea, California, Carolina Liquid Chemistries is a manufacturer, distributor and service provider of chemistry systems and reagents for hospitals, clinical reference laboratories and physician practices.

GlycoMark is dedicated to the discovery and commercialization of novel biomarkers for diabetes.