The biotechnology group Progenika, whose headquarters are in Bilbao, officially opened its first Diagnostic Service Centre outside Spain on 29 April, through its subsidiary Progenika Inc. These facilities, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), have been certified by the Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and recently obtained CLIA registration.

The opening was attended by the Basque Government Minister for Education, Universities and Research, Tontxu Campos, the Minister for Health, Gabriel Inclán, the General Manager of SPRI, Mauri Lazkano and the Technology Manager of the Department for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Alberto Fernández, as well as members of the American business and scientific community.

Progenika will gradually introduce a whole series of new diagnostic tests based on microarray technology onto the American market, such as LIPOchip, aimed at the definitive diagnosis of Familial Hypercholesterolemia and BLOODchip, the first genotyping test for blood groups, which increases the possibility of donor-receptor compatibility and therefore the safety of transfusions.