Moss, 14.12.2020

Gentian Diagnostics AS is pleased to announce that two new posters, with data
from studies in collaboration with research partners in Sweden and Spain, have
been accepted and published at the 2020 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting &
Clinical Lab Expo. Presented results confirm the value of calprotectin in
management of COVID-19 patients. 

A challenge with the care of patients with the severe form of COVID-19 is to
ensure availability of enough intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ventilators for
those patients who will need such high level of care. The two posters present
research results showing that the biomarker calprotectin can be used in the risk
assessment and prediction of which patients are at risk of developing severe
complications such as failure of the respiratory system and mortality. This
information can support hospitals to better allocate essential resources.

Poster #1289: Plasma calprotectin levels are increased in COVID-19 patients
admitted to ICU and correlate with endothelial cell damage

The aim of the study, conducted in collaboration with Akademiska University
Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden, has been to evaluate performance of calprotectin in
prediction of disease severity in ICU-treated COVID-19 patients. 121 patients
admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infections to the ICU were included in the
observational study together with ten controls, pre-operative cancer patients
treated at the same ICU. The analysis of plasma calprotectin was performed with
Gentian's immunoassay GCAL®.

The ICU patients with confirmed COVID-19 had significantly higher calprotectin
levels compared with ICU patients without COVID-19. Calprotectin was able to
differentiate between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients with a sensitivity of
93% and specificity of 100%. Furthermore, calprotectin levels correlated with
the levels of other inflammatory biomarkers and as a biomarker for endothelial
cell damage, indicating the prognostic value of calprotectin in subsequent organ
failure. As the release of calprotectin from neutrophils is very rapid in
response to infections, calprotectin may be used as an early marker for
neutrophil activation in COVID-19 infections.

Poster #1255: Circulating Levels Calprotectin for Prediction of Disease Severity
in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

The prospective, observational study, conducted in collaboration with Santa
Lucia Hospital in Cartagena, Spain, examined the value of serum calprotectin for
prediction of in-hospital mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation (MV)
in 66 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The analysis of calprotectin
was performed with Gentian's immunoassay GCAL®. 

The results show that calprotectin levels were significantly higher in COVID-19
patients who required mechanical ventilation and/or died compared to patients
with non-severe form of COVID-19. These findings suggest that calprotectin might
have a prognostic role in the risk assessment of COVID-19 patients. 

In this study, the performance of calprotectin was compared with other tests for
COVID-19 severity that are currently in use. Out of the other tests that have
been studied, only a test for C-reactive protein (CRP) was able to predict both
patients' need for mechanical ventilation and mortality as accurately as
calprotectin.

Please find the posters attached. 

For further information contact:

Hilja Ibert CEO, Gentian Diagnostics
E-mail: hilja.ibert@gentian.no 
Cell Phone: +47 919 05 242	

Njaal Kind CFO, Gentian Diagnostics
E-mail: njaal.kind@gentian.no
Cell Phone: +47 919 06 525