Date: Oct 25, 2012 Author: Dan Mayfield Source: bizjournals (
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Exagen Diagnostics on Thursday said it has received approval to offer its Avise SLE diagnostic tool in New York.
Exagen of Albuquerque has developed a new blood test that can help diagnose lupus and rule out other rheumatic diseases. It's a step forward for doctors because lupus is sometimes a difficult disease to differentiate from other autoimmune diseases. The new certification means that the Avise SLE brand is now available to patients nationwide.
"Exagen is pleased to be able to offer the Avise SLE diagnostic to physicians and patients in New York," said Ron Rocca, CEO. "We strongly believe in providing access to all patients and this final certification allows for that and enables us to support physicians nationwide."
The single blood test and can return results in seven days.
Exagen has been on a roller coaster this year. In September the company announced that it received $5.3 million in venture fund investments to develop its products. However, in April the company cut its sales force by 50 percent and laid off some laboratory employees.
Exagen launched testing services in 2010 to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome for doctors, generating the company's first significant revenue.
But the company pulled those tests from the market last summer because they proved less useful to physicians than originally thought, said President and CEO Ron Rocca, who joined Exagen in November of 2011.
