The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has granted approval for use of the Prionics^®-Check PrioSTRIP. Canada is the first country outside of Europe to use Prionics' breakthrough in BSE testing technology.

Since 2004, Canada has been using the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN for their enhanced national BSE surveillance program. Many international animal health authorities worldwide consider the Prionics^®-Check WESTERN as the most accurate rapid TSE test procedure in the world.

Now Canadian officials are also convinced of the advantages the new Prionics^®-Check PrioSTRIP has to offer. Combining speed with reliability, the Prionics^®-Check PrioSTRIP represents a sophisticated mass screening application in a simple, easy-to-use strip format. The entire test procedure takes as little as 100 minutes from brain to result - a considerable improvement over existing BSE testing platforms, which typically deliver results between four and six hours. Designed for high throughput processing with minimal requirements for specialized equipment, the combined benefits of the PrioSTRIP^® will help to significantly reduce operational laboratory costs while delivering the highest standards of sensi-tivity and specificity.

In February 2005 the PrioSTRIP^® was approved by the European Union and is currently used in Switzerland, France and Slovakia.