BREMEN, Germany, Sept. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bruker today
announced the closing of its acquisition of MERLIN Diagnostika
GmbH, located near Bonn, Germany. MERLIN has in-depth
expertise in products, services and consulting in the fields of
antibiotic resistance testing (ART) and antibiotic susceptibility
testing (AST). MERLIN's technology and product portfolio for
human and veterinary antibiotic resistance and specialty
susceptibility testing further expands Bruker´s microbiology
business, which is based on rapid, broad-based microbial
identification using Bruker's market-leading MALDI
Biotyper (MBT) platform for proteomic
fingerprinting. Financial details were not
disclosed.
The principle of the MERLIN MICRONAUT™ system for
specialty susceptibility testing is the phenotypic detection of
microbial growth inhibition in the presence of antibiotics.
Its microdilution procedure is a standardized, globally
accepted reference method for the determination of minimal
inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Standard and special AST
plates are available for in-vitro diagnostic use according to the
EU directive EC/98/79 for a wide spectrum of clinically important
microorganisms. MERLIN's focus is on the detection of major
resistance phenotypes, i.e. MRSA, VRE, MBL, ESBL, KPC, AMP-C, and
OXA-48. In addition, MERLIN has the ability to customize
antibiograms for more than 200 antibiotics. Due to this
flexibility, the MICRONAUT system enables
laboratories to adjust their testing profiles to the rapid spread
of certain new resistances. MICRONAUT software
for identification and susceptibility testing includes an expert
plausibility check, and has for several years already offered an
interface to Bruker´s MALDI Biotyper.
MERLIN is a member of the German Diagnostic Industry Association
(VDGH) and the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Chemotherapy
(www.p-e-g.org), and MERLIN is involved in various studies related
to antibiotic resistance, e.g. the monitoring of drug resistance
among clinically relevant pathogens in Germany and central Europe. For such multicenter studies
involving human and veterinary medicine, MERLIN offers the design
and production of dedicated MIC study plates, as well as scientific
consulting and support. MERLIN acts as a reference laboratory
for annual inter-laboratory tests by the INSTAND organization
(www.instand-ev.de) for quality assurance in microbiology.
MERLIN will continue to serve all existing collaboration and
distribution partners, as well as all OEM customers and end
customers after the acquisition.
Dr. Esther Pfeil, Managing
Director of MERLIN Diagnostika GmbH, commented: "We are very
pleased to be part of Bruker´s microbiology business now, as we
have been collaborating with Bruker already for several years.
Our product and service offerings in the field of antibiotic
susceptibility testing (AST) complement the MALDI
Biotyper system for fast and efficient microbial
identification. With our proven expertise in the field of
AST, we aim to accelerate further assay additions to the
MBT-STAR™ consumables portfolio for selected, rapid
antibiotic resistance and susceptibility testing on the MALDI
Biotyper."
Dr. Johann-Wolfgang Wittke,
Managing Director of the Medical Laboratory Bremen (Germany), said: "Our laboratory has been
working with Bruker´s MALDI Biotyper for microbial
identification and the MICRONAUT system from MERLIN
for many years. The MICRONAUT microdilution
approach with the determination of true minimal inhibitory
concentrations has leading analytical performance and reliability.
We use MERLIN's custom-tailored microtiter plates to answer
different microbiological questions, or for the detection of
resistance mechanisms. This flexibility is unmatched in the
market, and I am looking forward to further integration, synergies
and reduction of hands-on time."
Dr. Wolfgang Pusch, Executive
Vice President for Microbiology & Diagnostics at Bruker
Daltonics, added: "MERLIN adds expertise and an impressive
portfolio of flexible specialty products for antibiotic
susceptibility testing to Bruker's clinical and applied
microbiology business. Over time, we expect that MERLIN will
further expand our selected, high-value ART and AST assay portfolio
for the MALDI Biotyper."
About the Bruker MALDI Biotyper (MBT) Platform
The MALDI Biotyper family of systems enables molecular
identification of microorganisms like bacteria, yeasts and
fungi. Classification and identification of microorganisms is
achieved reliably and quickly using proteomic fingerprinting by
high-throughput MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The MALDI
Biotyper uses a molecular approach based on specific proteomic
fingerprints from bacterial strains. Many published studies
have highlighted the greater accuracy and lower cost offered, as
well as typically much faster time-to-result (TTR).
Applications of various MALDI Biotyper solutions include
clinical routine microbial identification, environmental and
pharmaceutical analysis, taxonomical research, food and consumer
product safety and quality control, as well as marine
microbiology. In many European and international laboratories
the MALDI Biotyper has replaced classical biochemical
testing for bacterial identification in the past few years due to
the accuracy, speed, extensive species coverage, ease of use and
cost effectiveness of the system. Traditional biochemical
techniques detect different metabolic properties of microorganisms,
can take many hours or even days for completion, and they often
lack specificity.
The robust MALDI Biotyper requires minimal sample
preparation and offers low consumables cost. The products of
the MALDI Biotyper family are available in a
research-use-only (RUO) version, as the U.S. FDA-cleared MALDI
Biotyper CA System, or in an IVD-CE version according to EU
directive EC/98/79. The MALDI Biotyper also has
medical device registrations in numerous other countries. RUO
versions of the MALDI Biotyper allow selected, high-value
antimicrobial resistance tests.
About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR)
For more than 55 years, Bruker has enabled scientists to make
breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve
the quality of human life. Bruker's high-performance
scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic
solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at
molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close
cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation,
productivity and customer success in life science molecular
research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy,
nano-analysis and industrial applications, as well as in cell
biology, preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics and proteomics
research, clinical microbiology and molecular pathology
research. For more information, please visit:
www.bruker.com
Investor
Contact:
Miroslava
Minkova
Head of Investor
Relations
T: +1 (978) 663–3660, ext.
1479
E: miroslava.minkova@bruker.com
Contact for Media and Customers:
Dr. Wolfgang Pusch
Bruker Daltonics Division
Tel: +49-421-2205-270
E: Wolfgang.Pusch@bruker.com
MALDI Biotyper® and MBT STAR® are
registered trademarks of Bruker Daltonik GmbH in the European Union
and other regions.
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