CLAS Closes Up Shop
The following announcement appeared on the Clinical Laboratory and Analytical Sciences organization (formerly the Clinical Ligand Assay Society) Web site (
www.clas.org). Attendance at the annual CLAS meetings was declining over the past few years.
It is with great sadness that
we inform you of the dissolution of the Clinical Laboratory and
Analytical Sciences organization (formerly the Clinical Ligand
Assay Society). After 35 years of superior conferences,
outstanding education and training programs for laboratory
professionals, certification programs, and the publication of a
fine journal, the organization has been forced to cease all
operations. This decision was affirmed by a vote of the CLAS Executive Board, which has now
disbanded.
CLAS recognizes that we have several
important and valued creditors to whom the organization owes
debts that we unfortunately are unable to pay. We are truly
sorry that this has happened.
CLAS entered into those arrangements in
good faith, but an extremely rapid decline in membership coupled
with unexpected poor attendance at the September annual meeting,
has left the organization with no cash with which to continue.
A small group of members has
met via conference call multiple times since mid-September to
look at ways that CLAS might be able to continue, and to
meet its outstanding financial obligations. Unfortunately, the group was unable to find any way to
raise the needed funds, and with no cash reserves and no revenue
stream, CLAS simply does not have the ability to
meet its current financial obligations.
We deeply apologize to our creditors for this.
Sincerely,
CLAS Ad Hoc Committee