WHITE PLAINS, SEPT. 15, 2003 – PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE: PKI) and the March of Dimes today announced that a $300,000 gift has been made through the PerkinElmer Foundation to the March of Dimes. The gift will be used to help improve the health of America's newborns by creating awareness around the importance of newborn screening. The first installment of the gift, to be distributed over three years, was presented by Gregory L. Summe, Chairman and CEO of PerkinElmer, Inc., at a March of Dimes Board of Trustees meeting.
“We are very pleased to partner with PerkinElmer on our shared commitment to expanded newborn screening for all babies born in this country,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, President of the March of Dimes. “The March of Dimes is the first national non-profit health organization to recommend that every baby born in the United States receive screening for the same core group of nine serious metabolic disorders, plus hearing loss. Newborn screening has been a March of Dimes priority for three years, and our chapters are working closely with governors, state legislators, and health departments to increase access to these important tests. We're grateful for PerkinElmer's support for our efforts.”
“The March of Dimes has demonstrated tremendous commitment to increasing the availability of newborn testing,” said Mr. Summe to the March of Dimes Board of Trustees. “This is becoming even more important today, as new advances in genomics are providing a wide range of diagnostic tests not previously available. We made this contribution to help support the March of Dimes in their campaign to help improve the quality of life worldwide.”
PerkinElmer supplies technology to every newborn screening laboratory in the United States. Approximately four million babies born in the U.S. each year are screened for one or more disorders on a PerkinElmer system.
