NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Biocartis and Microbiome recently announced a worldwide collaboration to develop an integrated multiplex, real-time PCR-based assay for the rapid detection of bloodstream infections.
Under the terms of the deal, Microbiome's PCR assay for identifying sepsis-causing microorganisms will be further developed as an integrated multiplex, real-time PCR assay on Biocartis' Idylla platform for use in conjunction with the Belgian firm's Idylla Enrich platform, currently under development.
Idylla Enrich is a dedicated pre-enrichment platform for bloodstream infections. Its method has been tested as part of Europe's largest sepsis study to date comprising nearly 7,500 clinical samples. Biocartis said that it will further develop the system and plans to launch it for use with the pathogen identification test licensed from Microbiome, a spinout of VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.
The partners said that combining a multiplex PCR assay on the Idylla platform will enable the identification of bloodstream infection pathogens in as little as two hours, compared to the 24 to 48 hours necessary with current methods.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.