Team Wako Participates in 2006 Richmond Heart Walk
On October 21st, Team Wako participated in the Richmond Heart Walk held at the Richmond International Raceway. Our team raised $1,988.00 for the American Heart Association.

Parent Company Opens a R&D Center in the USA
Wako Pure Chemical Industries Ltd. opens the Mourntain View R&D Center (MVRDC) in Mountain View, CA to develop new items for the Diagnostics Division.

Wako Teams Up for the 2005 Richmond Heart Walk
Wako employees in Richmond joined together as Team Wako to walk in the Richmond Heart Walk on October 29th and raised money for the American Heart Association, supporting research and education about heart disease and stroke.

Sales Office Opens in Los Angeles Area
The Laboratory Chemicals Division opens a sales office in Irvine, CA to provide sales and technical support to customers in California.

Because of its Eastern Shore location, Cape Charles was selected for the placement of the new facility. The facility is utilized to extract and process the blood from horseshoe crabs. The crabs are then released to the ocean in good condition after the process and will survive.

Guest speakers included Mr. Shunro Kawamura, Managing Director of Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.; Congressman Edward Schrock, Virginia's 2nd District Congressman; Mayor Frank Lewis, Town of Cape Charles; and Greg Manter, Eastern Shore of Virginia Economic Development.

The dedication, attended by Wako employees, Cape Charles Community Leaders and other invited guests, included a facility tour and catered luncheon.

TAB-New Labs Dedication Ceremony
To celebrate the completion of its new TAB-CL Plant and New Labs Building, Wako hosted a Dedication Ceremony at its Bellwood Road site.

The ceremony, which was attended by Wako employees and an array of invited guests and dignitaries included a ribbon cutting, plant and labs building tour and a catered luncheon.

Guest speakers included the Honorable Michael J. Schewel, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the commonwealth of Virginia; Mr. Harry Watanabe, President of Fuji Photo Film, Inc.; and Mr. Takahiro Ueyama, Managing Director of Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., Japan.

During his welcoming remarks, Mr. Hiroshi Shima, Wako USA's President, stated that, "the construction of the TAB-CL Plant is Wako's commitment to become a manufacturer of photographic chemicals in the United States," and that, "the new Labs Building has been built to meet the increasing demand for our Diagnostic Reagents and Laboratory Chemicals in this country." A totally new reagent and testing instrument for the diagnosis of chronic liver disease is about to be developed in the new Lab.

Haemachem, Inc. was established in 1974 by Dr. E. Thye Yin, who remains the Director of the new Haemachem Division of Wako Chemicals USA, Inc.

Micro-Albumin Assay with a Prozone Limit of 10,000 mg/mL
Wako announces the availability of its Micro-Albumin B test kit for the quantitative determination of small concentrations of albumin in urine.

The Wako Micro-Albumin B assay is based turbidimetric immunoassay methodology, utilizing both mono- and polyclonal antibodies against human albumin and allows accurate and reproducible measurement of micro-albuminuria with a 2 point calibration.

In the Wako Micro-Albumin B assay, when a sample is mixed with Buffer and Antibody B, albumin in the sample combines specifically with antihuman albumin antibodies in the reagents to yield an insoluble aggregate that causes increased turbidity. The degree of turbidity can be measured optically and is proportional to the amount of albumin in the sample.

The Wako Micro-Albumin B assay has excellent performance. The total precision studies give a 2.14%CV, 1.06%CV, and 1.00%CV at mean concentrations of 10.3mg/mL, 29.3mg/mL and 143.1mg/mL, respectively. The linearity of the assay is up to 160 mg/mL and has a lower limit of detection at 3mg/mL. Prozone phenomenon is not observed up to 10,000mg/mL.

This assay can be automated on your existing clinical chemistry instrumentation. Instrument applications are available from Wako.

The Wako CETP assay utilizes sandwich enzyme immunoassay methodology for measuring CETP mass, which is a useful tool for lipid research purposes.

In the Wako CETP assay, a sample is treated with the pretreatment solution, which contains detergent. CETP in the sample is released from lipoproteins. The released CETP reacts with the monoclonal antibody (CETP-4) coated on the solid phase, and with the HRP-labeled monoclonal antibody in a double step reaction. The activity of the enzyme bound to the solid phase, which is proportional to the concentration of CETP mass in the sample, is determined by using hydrogen peroxide and the chromogen (o-phenylenediamine).

The Wako CETP assay has good precision, accuracy and specificity. The linear range of the assay is 0-4.8 mg/mL.

This test is for research use only and not intended for use in diagnostic procedures.

Wako Autokit Lp(a) Approved for Use on the Abbott AEROSET® instrument
Through Special 510(k) Process, the FDA has approved the Wako Lp(a) assay on the Abbott AEROSET® BIO instrument and has assigned a Moderate Complexity Categorization to the assay.

Wako Autokit Lp(a) Approved for Use on the Roche COBAS® FARA and FARA II instruments
Through Special 510(k) Process, the FDA has approved the Wako Lp(a) assay on the COBAS® FARA and FARA II instruments and has assigned a Moderate Complexity Categorization to the assay.

Wako Autokit Lp(a) Approved for Use on the Dade DIMENSION® instrument
Through Special 510(k) Process, the FDA has approved the Wako Lp(a) assay on the Dade DIMENSION® instrument and has assigned a Moderate Complexity Categorization to the assay.

Wako Autokit Lp(a) Approved for Use on the Technicon® RA500, XT, 1000 and Opera instruments
Through Special 510(k) Process, the FDA has approved the Wako Lp(a) assay on the Technicon® RA500, XT, 1000 and Opera instruments and has assigned a Moderate Complexity Categorization to the assay.