CHELMSFORD, Mass., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Magellan
Biosciences, a global manufacturer of products designed to make
diagnostic testing easier, more cost-effective, and less labor
intensive, today announced an agreement with Bruker Corporation
(NASDAQ: BRKR) to deliver microbial identification from cultures
using MALDI-TOF proteomic finger-printing, along with Magellan's
TREK-brand susceptibility tests to clinical, research, and
veterinary laboratory customers. The compatible product offerings
are expected to improve the microbiology laboratory workflow,
offering fast, reliable results that enable clinicians to make
more-informed treatment decisions. Prescribing the right
antimicrobial drug at the lowest possible dose to eradicate
a bacterial, fungal, or yeast infection is not only important to
the specific patient's health, but also critical to the global
efforts to combat the burgeoning problem of drug resistance.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Magellan will develop and test
an integrated cross-platform software interface that will enable
microbial identification information gathered on the Bruker MALDI
Biotyper mass spectrometry-based proteomic finger-printing system
to be combined with Magellan's Sensititre® susceptibility results.
The software will allow laboratories to generate custom expert
rules, which can guide laboratory and clinical action upon receipt
of results from both systems. Magellan's U.S. microbiology sales
force will then promote the complementary product offerings.
"We are pleased to offer these enhanced microbiology tools that
will deliver complete, actionable information to improve patient
care and fight deadly drug resistance," said Magellan President and
Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi
Uchida, Ph.D. "We can soon combine the MALDI Biotyper's
rapid identification of more than 2,000 species of bacteria, as
well as yeast and fungi, with Sensititre's true MIC results for an
expansive list of antimicrobial drugs and dilution ranges, enabling
physicians to make more-precise dosing decisions. In fact,
Sensititre is the standard used by the National Antibiotic
Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) in the U.S. and Canada," Dr. Uchida added.
The MALDI Biotyper is available in a clinical version with an
IVD-CE mark in the European community, and is labeled
research-use-only in the United
States. Bruker plans to seek U.S. FDA clearance, and
regulatory clearance is underway in several other countries. The
Sensititre product line features both EU and U.S. clearances, while
Japan clearance for the Sensititre
system is in process.
"This arrangement leverages both companies' products and
experience, while providing significant improvements in ease of use
and time-to-results using the MALDI Biotyper for cost-effective,
proteomic fingerprint based identification," commented Bruker
Daltonics Vice President for Business Development, Gary Kruppa, Ph.D. "Bruker is committed to the
Open Microbiology Consortium concepts of open interfaces, and of
making its systems compatible with other microbiology products in
order to provide the most advanced and cost-effective solutions to
microbiology customers worldwide."
About the Bruker MALDI Biotyper
Bruker's dedicated MALDI Biotyper solution enables molecular
identification, taxonomical classification or dereplication of
microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Classification and
identification of microorganisms is achieved reliably and fast
using proteomic fingerprinting with high-throughput MALDI-TOF mass
spectrometry. Applications include clinical routine microbial
identification, environmental and pharmaceutical analysis,
taxonomical research, food and consumer product processing and
quality control, as well as in marine microbiology. Bruker's robust
MALDI Biotyper method requires minimal sample preparation efforts
and offers low cost per sample. The MALDI Biotyper is available in
a research-use-only version, as well as in an IVD version according
to the EU directive EC/98/79 in certain EU countries. For more
information, please visit www.bdal.com/maldibiotyper.
About the VersaTREK and Sensititre Product Lines
Magellan's VersaTREK automated microbial-detection system offers
four tests on one system, including detection of bacteria in blood
culture and sterile body fluids as well as mycobacteria detection
and M. tuberculosis susceptibility testing. The TREK-brand
Sensititre product line for susceptibility testing enables labs to
test – on a single cost-effective, LIS-compatible system – more
FDA-cleared antimicrobial drugs than on any other automated
platform against the widest range of non-fastidious and fastidious
bacteria and yeasts. This saves microbiology labs from having to
use multiple off-line test procedures to obtain accurate
susceptibility data. Magellan often gets early access to the latest
therapeutics because pharmaceutical companies use the Sensititre
system during drug development. The platform is also the
system-of-choice for global surveillance initiatives, including
NARMS (National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System). We
offer a full range of standard and custom Sensititre plates
featuring 18- to 24-hour incubation, true MIC endpoints, and
on-scale QC ranges, making susceptibility testing a viable
procedure for laboratories of virtually any size. For custom dried
or reference-method plates, laboratories can specify format and
antimicrobic concentrations, selecting from more than 240 agents,
including 80+ cleared compounds, to create a plate best-suited for
the lab's particular need. Small minimum order quantities allow for
better cost and inventory control.
About Magellan (www.magellanbio.com)
Founded in 2004, Magellan's innovative technologies make
diagnostic testing easier, more cost-effective, and less labor
intensive. The company's products deliver the timely information
that clinicians need to make appropriate treatment decisions and
improve outcomes for patients. They include LeadCare®-brand rapid
point-of-care systems to screen children and adults for lead
poisoning; TREK-brand microbiology products for blood culture and
susceptibility testing that help in the global effort to prevent
MRSA and other drug-resistant infections; as well as Dynex® -brand
automated ELISA processing systems for a wide variety of
immunoassays – from infectious disease to autoimmune and
food-safety testing. Magellan has approximately 290 employees
worldwide.
SOURCE Magellan Biosciences