MANILA, Philippines--You may have heard of the phrase ?false negative,? a term referring to misdiagnosis of something that is not actually present as well as ?false positive? or the failure of one to diagnose something that is present.

For a number of patients who have undergone diagnosis, getting a false negative or a false positive may seem just an unfortunate occurrence.

But the fact is, not getting an accurate diagnosis has resulted not only of patients spending on wrong or ineffective medicine or treatment procedure but also untold harm?from the aggravation of an existing health conditions to even death.

?An accurate initial medical diagnosis is the foundation on which all subsequent healthcare decisions are based. An inefficient treatment following misdiagnosis or additional testing due to ambiguous interpretations may result in additional but unnecessary expense for the patient,? lamented Dr. Philip Cruz, executive president of Ambica Biotechnologies.

What patients need right now, according to Cruz, are medicines or treatment approach tailored to their body and health condition.

And this can only be done using cutting-edge method of diagnostics.

Indeed, personalized medicine has been a dream since 2003 when scientists completed the Human Genome project?a decade-long effort to sequence all of man?s DNA.

Cruz said this may now be possible because of molecular diagnostics as well as genetic testing being done at Reliance Life Sciences, a high-tech biotechnology firm in Mumbai, India, of which Ambica Biotechnologies, is affiliated to.

Molecular diagnostics refers to the use of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) in order to produce a tailor-made medical treatment, customized according to patients? genetic make and exact characterization of the disease.

A genetic testing, on the other hand, could confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition, or help determine a person?s chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder.

Exciting technologies

?Ambica Biotechnologies is privileged to partner with Reliance Life Sciences and their cutting-edge diagnostic procedures that have the potential to make the mass diagnosis of a whole host of diseases faster, better and much cheaper,? Cruz said.

He believes that employing these two cutting-edge diagnostic procedures should usher the Philippines to an era of personalized medicine, in which patients get drugs tailored to their genetic makeup.

Both Ambica Biotechnologies and Reliance Life Sciences are accredited with the National Accreditation Board for Laboratory Testing and College of American Pathologists.

?Better diagnostics help ensure that Filipino patients get the right drugs for them. Many times patients were being prescribed with drugs or treatment procedure that may have no benefit or have low response rate,? Cruz said.

Benefit

According to him, cancer patients are among those who stand to benefit from their sensitive and accurate diagnostic capabilities, which enable early-stage disease detection from raw biological samples.

?Not only cancer patients, early detection of those with suspected influenza A(H1N1) enhances their chances of survival. The treatment of diseases at the early stages is usually more effective and has a greater potential for improving the long-term health of the patient,? Cruz said.

He said Ambica Biotechnologies, whose laboratory is located at 9 Amsterdam Street, Merville Park Subdivision, Parañaque could do the testing on demand whether its individual sample or batches of specimens.

Specimens collected here are immediately processed at the Parañaque lab or is transported immediately to Reliance Life Sciences laboratory in Mumbai for testing (Ambica Biotechnologies has a special arrangement with a courier company).

Results of which, could be obtained from one day to 30 hours.

Wider access

?With this partnership, we hope to provide wider access to affordable, accurate and effective tests for cancer patients? early diagnosis, as well as screening of persons with suspected infectious disease such as tuberculosis, dengue, hepatitis A, B and C, human immunovirus (HIV), Parvovirus and Chlamydia,? Cruz said.

?We need to make increased diagnostic accuracy a priority. By matching doctor?s expertise with accurate diagnosis to individual cases, we could tailor fit a solution that not only cut medical cost but also provide effective and lasting cure,? he said.