Sponsors FIGO’s NCD Committee to Support Healthcare Community in Addressing Pregnancy-Related Diseases

WHAT: PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, today announced its collaboration with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), a not-for-profit, professional association with 130 member organizations that convenes obstetrical and gynecological associations from across the globe.  FIGO is dedicated to improving women’s health and reducing disparities in available healthcare to women and newborn babies, along with advancing the science and practice of obstetrics and gynecology.

PerkinElmer will sponsor FIGO’s Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Committee through an annual unrestricted educational grant.  The Committee will focus on prediction (ideally in the 1^st Trimester) and prevention of pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia, pre-term labor, hyperglycemia in pregnancy, and fetal growth restriction as a consequence of common NCDs.  The Committee will work together with physicians and health organizations to help develop guidelines and practice recommendations.

WHY:​​ “FIGO recently formed this Committee on maternal and offspring health and prevention of NCDs to emphasize the importance of health and nutrition to improve pregnancy outcomes – such as lowering the incidence of pre-eclampsia – on a global scale,” said Professor Moshe Hod, Chair, FIGO Committee on Maternal and Offspring Health and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases.  “PerkinElmer is at the forefront of diagnostics innovations, and its sponsorship of the NCD Committee will help build the foundation for better overall population health.”

“Non-communicable diseases are a growing global problem and the link with women’s health is clear; thus, it’s essential for FIGO’s NCD Committee to be pushing this agenda. FIGO is delighted to be partnering with PerkinElmer on this important issue,” said FIGO’s President Professor CN Purandare.

“We are honored to have this opportunity to support FIGO to drive awareness of global issues regarding NCDs such as pre-eclampsia , HIP, PTB and the importance of identifying solutions early in the pregnancy,” said Prahlad Singh, Executive Vice President and President, Diagnostics, PerkinElmer.  “We continue to support research and advocacy related to prediction and prevention of NCDs as well as ongoing initiatives related to the health of expectant mothers and their developing babies.  We also look forward to ongoing collaboration worldwide to support emerging regions adopt screening programs, which have demonstrated effectiveness.”

MORE: PerkinElmer’s  DELFIA^® Xpress PlGF 1-2-3^TM assay was integral to the ASPRE study, an EU FP7 funded, double blind, randomized study, of aspirin treatment (150mg) to women identified as high risk using a combination of maternal history, biophysical markers and PlGF -1-2-3 ^TM assay results.  Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2017 (Rolink D et al, 2017), it was communicated that this model of prediction of the high risk group (10%) and subsequent treatment with aspirin, led to a significant reduction (62%) in pre-term preeclampsia.

Further analysis of the ASPRE data, recently published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (Wright D et al, 2018) identified that the length of stay in the NICU was 68% less for the babies from mothers in the high risk cohort treated with aspirin versus the placebo, leading to potentially significant cost reductions.

In prenatal screening, PerkinElmer screens more than 10 million expectant women annually (and over 160 million to date).  As the global leader in newborn screening, PerkinElmer’s technologies have been used to screen a total of over 600 million newborn babies.

ABOUT PERKINELMER:

PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world. Our dedicated team of about 11,000 employees worldwide is passionate about providing customers with an unmatched experience as they help solve critical issues especially impacting the diagnostics and discovery and analytical solutions markets. Our innovative detection, imaging, informatics, and service capabilities, combined with deep market knowledge and expertise, help customers gain earlier and more accurate insights to improve lives and the world around us. The Company reported revenue of approximately $2.3 billion in 2017, serves customers in more than 150 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional information is available through 1-877-PKI-NYSE, or at www.perkinelmer.com.