(MENAFN- GlobeNewsWire - Nasdaq) Helping Ensure Appropriate Dosing of Widely-Used Anti-Clotting DrugsMISSISSAUGA, Ontario and MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Sept. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Microbix Biosystems Inc. ( TSX: MBX, OTCQX: MBXBF, Microbix® ), a life sciences innovator, manufacturer, and exporter, and EMQN CIC ( EMQN ), a global supplier of laboratory external quality assessment (“ EQA ”) schemes for human genomic testing, announce the go-live of a program to support rapid and accurate identification of patients who carry gene-variants associated with faster and slower than normal metabolism of the widely-prescribed antiplatelet (anti-clotting) drug Clopidogrel (brand named Plavix®).
This novel EQA program is to help ensure the proficiency of sites performing Point-of-Care Tests (“ POCTs ”) that detect if patients carry any of three clinically-relevant variants of the Cytochrome P450 CYP2C19 liver enzyme gene (i.e., *2 or *3 loss-of-function, or *17 enhanced-function). Over 20% of persons carry these gene variants that can lead to over-dosing or under-dosing. Patients with genes relating to slower metabolic clearance can be over-dosed, increasing the risk of life-threatening internal bleeding. In turn, those genes relating to faster metabolic clearance can be under-dosed, reducing effectiveness and putting them at risk of life-threatening blood clots. As treatment decisions must often be made rapidly, POCT-based genotyping is critical to guide appropriate antiplatelet dosing in a time-sensitive clinical window.
Antiplatelet drugs are commonly prescribed to persons deemed at-risk of heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, peripheral arterial occlusions, or atrial fibrillation. It is estimated that over 15 million prescriptions for Clopidogrel are written in the United States each year. All such patients in the U.S., UK, Canada, and globally, can benefit from pharmacogenomic POCTs to assess their rate of drug metabolism – to reduce their risk of harm as a result of excessive or inadequate drug therapy.
Microbix-produced quality assessment products (“ QAPs TM”), formatted onto Copan® FLOQSwabs®, are being used in this EMQN EQA program to help assess the proficiency and accuracy of such genetic testing. With a subscription to this EMQN EQA scheme, participants will receive three samples every two months (18 per year), helping them to ensure the accuracy of their testing on an ongoing basis and thereby help physicians and pharmacists make safe and effective prescription decisions.
Sean Sales, Operations Director at EMQN, commented,“It's been a pleasure to have Microbix's assistance in making QAPs for this groundbreaking and important new POCT EQA program. Physicians and pharmacists need information to be able to rapidly evaluate the risk-benefit of antiplatelet treatments, and no patient should be put at risk of life-threatening bleeding or clots due to inappropriate dosing.”
Ms. Sydney Rivers, Product Manager at Microbix also commented,“We're pleased to help create EQA for this clinically-important testing. Our expertise joins that of EMQN and Copan to ensure optimal treatment is available for patients worldwide. These QAPs are Microbix's second entry into supporting the accuracy of genetic tests, adding to our established presence in infectious diseases and emerging role in oncology.”
UK and international labs can enroll in this EQA program (code POCT CYP2C19) via EMQN CIC at and enquiries about Microbix QAPs can be directed to ... .
About EMQN CIC
EMQN is a Manchester, UK based company that provides quality assurance tools and specialized knowledge to the human genomic testing community through External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes. Its work helps guarantee the best possible molecular diagnostic procedure, analytical performance, and clinical interpretation. EMQN's highly qualified peer group of assessors take pride in their thought leadership position and are committed to regularly publishing best practice guidelines and other information for the molecular diagnostics field. EMQN is accredited by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the international standard for EQA scheme providers, ISO/IEC 17043:2023.
About Microbix Biosystems Inc.
Microbix creates proprietary biological products for human health, with over 120 skilled employees and revenues targeting C$ 2.0 million or more per month. It makes and exports a wide range of critical ingredients and devices for the global diagnostics industry, notably antigens for immunoassays and its laboratory quality assessment products (QAPsTM) and reference materials (QUANTDxTM) supporting POCT & clinical lab EQA, enabling assay development and validation, or helping ensure the quality of clinical diagnostic workflows. Its antigens drive the tests of approximately 100 diagnostics makers, while QAPs or QUANTDx are sold to clinical lab accreditation organizations, diagnostics companies, and clinical labs. Microbix QAPs are now available in over 30 countries, supported by a network of international distributors. Microbix is ISO 9001 & 13485 accredited, U.S. FDA registered, Australian TGA registered, Health Canada establishment licensed, and provides IVDR-compliant CE marked products.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes“forward-looking information,” as such term is defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, discussion of tests or the EQA program, EMQN, Copan, or their relevance, Microbix's products or services, business and business results, goals or outlook, risks associated with financial results or stability, development projects such as those referenced in its presentations, regulatory compliance and approvals, access to and sales to foreign jurisdictions, engineering and construction, production (including control over costs, quality, quantity or timeliness of delivery), currency exchange rates, maintaining adequate working capital or raising new capital on acceptable terms or at all, and other similar statements about anticipated future events, conditions or results that are not historical facts. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Microbix cautions that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain, and actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, some of which are beyond its control. Accordingly, actual future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and represent Microbix's judgement as of the date of this new release, and it is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking information except as required by applicable law.
Please visit or for recent Microbix news and filings.
For further information, please contact Microbix at:
Copyright © 2025 Microbix Biosystems Inc.
Microbix®, DxTMTM, Kinlytic®, QAPsTM, and QUANTDxTM are trademarks of Microbix Biosystems Inc.
Copan®, FLOQ®, and FLOQSwab® are trademarks of Copan Italia S.p.A.
Other companies' names or product names may be protected by their respective trademarks.
Comments
No comment