• Hosting its 2022 Medical Congress, SYNLAB builds upon its unique diagnostic expertise and brings together medical experts from across the globe to develop medical solutions addressing patients’ needs of today and tomorrow
• ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: Fighting this leading cause of death, SYNLAB pushes advanced molecular techniques to enable rapid testing for the immediate identification of antimicrobial resistance and sensitivities, helping to reduce exposure to unnecessary medicines and pinpoint the most effective treatment options for patients
• GENETICS: As the European leader in genetic testing, SYNLAB exploits powerful and complex technologies to ever better analyse patients’ responses to drugs based on their genetic makeup and works to effectively consolidate data of pathogenic variants for advanced methods of prevention
• ONCOLOGY: SYNLAB collaborates with experts from different medical fields, developing artificial intelligence solutions to further optimize the analysis of large diagnostic data sets, supporting new therapy guidance that is more targeted and effective and provides vast improvements for patients
• MICROBIOME: Going beyond wellness, SYNLAB is working on microbiome analysis in oncology to improve the efficiency of drugs in cancer therapies

SYNLAB, the leader in medical diagnostic services and specialty testing in Europe, is hosting its 2022 Medical Congress this week, bringing together leading medical professionals and partners from inside and outside the global SYNLAB network. In roundtables, the experts are examining best practices for driving diagnostics forward for direct patient benefit and healthcare improvements in four highly relevant speciality areas. “I am very proud of the high standards showcased in each of these focus groups”, says Santiago Valor, Chief Medical Officer at SYNLAB Group.

Antimicrobial and multidrug resistance are major global health threats of our time, killing about 3,500 people every day. To effectively tackle the issue, SYNLAB experts are working closely with clinical microbiologists to develop ways to quickly pinpoint the most effective drug treatment for individual patients. Doing so, SYNLAB collaborates with the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to develop advanced molecular techniques that enable rapid testing for the immediate identification of potential antimicrobial resistance and sensitivities to antibiotics. David James, Chief Medical Officer of SYNLAB UK & Ireland, explains: “Further improving our diagnostic expertise and knowledge around the use and impact of antibiotics, we are helping to reduce patients’ exposure to unnecessary medicines, speed up their recovery, and ultimately reduce the pace of microbial evolution.”

As the European leader in genetics and genomic analysis, SYNLAB is further exploring powerful and complex technologies to provide simple clinical answers. As such, SYNLAB constantly enhances its pharmacogenetics capabilities to ever better analyse patients’ responses to drugs based on their genetic makeup. Another focus area is the utilization of big data sets in genetics. In fact, SYNLAB consolidates data of pathogenic variants for advanced methods of prevention through predictive diagnosis, in reproductive medicine, or approaches to rare and orphan diseases. Michael Morris, SYNLAB Group’s Head of Genetics, underlines the importance of the field: “Constantly expanding our genetic and genomic expertise, our teams contribute to improved patient care across all branches of medicine and provide the basis for thousands of therapy decisions every day.”

With patients at the centre of our work, SYNLAB utilizes its advanced expertise to further improve the efficiency and precision of oncological diagnostics and therapies. Rapidly decoding human genomes through technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) allows to extract a vast set of information that enable statements on the course of tumour diseases and therapy control. Now, SYNLAB works with experts from different medical fields to develop artificial intelligence to exploit the full value of the information available. Martin Roskos, Chief Medical Officer at SYNLAB Germany, explains: “Replacing microscopic methods in pathology with artificial intelligence solutions will allow us to perform diagnoses and report deliveries much faster as well as increase precision to support oncologists in defining specific therapy options. This way, we can enhance the development of new therapy guidance that is more targeted, effective, and provides vast improvements for patients.”

In the context of oncology, also microbiome analysis is gaining increasing importance. While it is tremendously helpful for individuals to improve wellness and support healthy aging, SYNLAB is working to apply microbiome analysis also in the oncology segment. Accumulating evidence suggests the assessment of a person’s entire microbial genome in the gut allows to derive detailed evaluations of the potential of the microbiome to modulate the efficacy of drugs in cancer therapies. Marta Llopis, specialist for microbiome diagnostics at SYNLAB, elaborates: “Working patient-centric across the entire SYNLAB network, we continuously look for ways to complement our knowledge and offering. With the insights we gain from a microbiome test, initially characterised as wellness analysis, we are now seeking to find ways to effectively support cancer therapies.”

Summing up the SYNLAB Medical Congress, SYNLAB Group CEO Mathieu Floreani concludes: “Looking at aging and growing populations, changing lifestyles and a rising frequency of conditions such as allergies and long-term chronic diseases, healthcare systems are pressured to focus on effective targeted therapies based on patient-oriented medical diagnostic services. Committed to medical excellence, SYNLAB places an emphasis on research and development in specialty medical areas to provide actionable diagnostic information for healthy lives and well-being for all.”

For more information:

About SYNLAB

• SYNLAB Group is the leader in medical diagnostic services and specialty testing in Europe. The Group offers a full range of innovative and reliable medical diagnostics to patients, practicing doctors, hospitals and clinics, governments and corporates.
• Providing the leading level of service within the industry, SYNLAB is the partner of choice for routine and specialty diagnostics in human and veterinary medicine. The Group continuously innovates medical diagnostic services for the benefit of patients and customers.
• SYNLAB operates in 36 countries across four continents and holds leading positions in most markets, regularly reinforcing the strength of its network through a proven acquisition strategy. More than 30,000 employees, including over 2,000 medical experts, contribute every day to the Group’s worldwide success.
• SYNLAB performed around 600 million laboratory tests and achieved revenues of €3.76 billion in 2021.
• More information can be found on www.synlab.com