NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Luminex said today that Health Canada has cleared for marketing the firm’s xTAG Respiratory Virus Panel, which detects 18 respiratory viruses and subtypes that are responsible for the majority of respiratory viral infections.
The panel is based on Luminex’s xMAP multiplex technology and was developed by the firm’s Toronto-based subsidiary, Luminex Molecular Diagnostics.
Among the viruses that the xTAG RVP detects are adenovirus, coronavirus, enterovirus, influenza, metapneumovirus, parainfluenza, and respiratory syncytial virus. It also detects subtypes of these viruses.
"Because it quickly and simultaneously detects the presence or absence of 18 different virus types and subtypes, xTAG RVP allows physicians to diagnose an infection and make appropriate management decisions,” said James Mahony, director of the Regional Virology Laboratory at St. Joseph's Healthcare, who helped develop the test. “It can detect viruses that cannot be detected with conventional tests and can accurately diagnose patients infected with multiple respiratory viruses."
The xTAG RVP is already cleared for marketing in Europe and the US.