SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crescendo Bioscience®, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company dedicated to developing quantitative blood tests and disease information services for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other autoimmune diseases, today announced its selection as one of the 2013 Red Herring Top 100 North America award recipients. Red Herring selected the 100 honorees during its Red Herring North America event held in Monterey, CA, May 21-23.
"We are very excited to be recognized for our company's innovation in leveraging scientific and technological advances to help patients with RA and their physicians better understand and manage their disease," said William A. Hagstrom, chief executive officer, Crescendo Bioscience. "At a time when Crescendo Bioscience is rapidly expanding its presence and expertise in the rheumatology market with its first novel test, Vectra® DA, this award is great confirmation of the company's progress and momentum in meeting unmet needs in autoimmune diseases."
The Red Herring 100 is a widely recognized, prestigious annual award with up to 1,400 competitors from every continent. Red Herring's editorial staff evaluates the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation and intellectual property, management quality, business model, customer footprint, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their sector peers.
"In 2013, selecting the Top 100 achievers was by no means a small feat," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. "In fact, we had the toughest time in years because so many entrepreneurs have crossed significant milestones so early. But after much thought, rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across North America to the Top 100 Winners. We believe that Crescendo Bioscience embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. Crescendo Bioscience should be proud of its accomplishment, as the competition was very strong."
Crescendo Bioscience's Offerings
Crescendo Bioscience developed and markets the Vectra® DA multi-biomarker blood test for adults diagnosed with RA. Vectra DA assesses RA disease activity by measuring 12 key biomarkers, or proteins, associated with RA to create a score that classifies disease activity as low, moderate or high. The test helps physicians objectively assess a patient's level of RA disease activity and is often used in conjunction with treatment changes to help determine how well a patient's RA disease activity is being controlled. All testing is performed at Crescendo Bioscience's state-of–the-art, CLIA-certified laboratory.
As part of Crescendo's commitment to providing patients with the most up-to-date disease information services, the company developed MyRA™. MyRA is a free mobile app for people living with RA that was designed to empower patients to regularly track multiple aspects of their RA and easily share the information with their doctors. Crescendo has received increasing recognition for its technology, including the 2013 BIO Buzz Award for Technologies of Tomorrow (Biotechnology Industry Organization), the 2013 SAMCEDA Innovator Award of Excellence in Healthcare/Biotech (San Mateo County Economic Development Association), the 2013 DxMA Best in Show Award (Diagnostics Marketing Association) and, recently, Apple iTunes featured MyRA as "New and Noteworthy".
About RA
RA is a debilitating, highly variable, chronic disease affecting approximately 1.5 million Americans and more than two million people in Europe. The primary symptoms of RA are painful swollen joints and fatigue, with the disease often resulting in joint damage and disability. RA is a systemic disease that can significantly affect other parts of the body, resulting in infection, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and causes an increased rate of mortality.
Clinicians assess RA based on three factors: disease activity (clinical signs and symptoms), structural damage in joints, such as erosions, and functional status (including pain). Many of the current clinical assessment tools used by physicians are qualitative and subjective and they may not adequately identify key properties of the disease.
Early and accurate detection of RA, accompanied by effective therapy with frequent monitoring of disease activity, is critical for optimizing clinical outcomes. The American College of Rheumatology has developed guidelines supporting the goals of "Treat to Target" and "Tight Control" to help clinicians achieve clinical and structural remission in their patients, and improve their long-term functional status.
About Crescendo Bioscience, Inc.
Crescendo Bioscience is a molecular diagnostics company focused in rheumatology and located in South San Francisco, CA. Crescendo Bioscience develops quantitative, objective, blood tests to provide rheumatologists with deeper clinical insights to help enable more effective management of patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.CrescendoBio.com.
About the Red Herring 100
Red Herring Top 100 America enlists outstanding entrepreneurs and promising companies. It selects one hundred Award winners, among the 3000 tech startups financed each year in the US and Canada. Since 1996, Red Herring keeps tabs on the up and comers. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, Marin Software, Palo Alto Networks, and eBay would change the way we live and work.