NEW YORK – T2 Biosystems announced today that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Bionuclear Puerto Rico to make its rapid diagnostic products available in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal covers T2's diagnostic technologies, including the T2Bacteria and T2Candida panels, which can now potentially reach patients in approximately 64 hospitals covered by Bionuclear.
Bionuclear also distributes healthcare products from companies such as Sysmex, Arkray, Immucor, and Thermo Scientific, according to its website.
The T2 system and assays provide results in three to five hours directly from whole blood samples, as compared to multiple days of turnaround time for tests requiring blood cultures. The T2Bacteria panel specifically is the first direct-from-blood assay for the pathogens that can cause sepsis and it recently became the first in vitro diagnostic assay to receive approval for a New Technology Add-on Payment (NTAP) by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The firm was also recently awarded a milestone-based contract with an initial value of $6 million and potential value of $69 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). T2 is currently developing assays for additional pathogens and resistance markers, as well as an assay for the pathogens that can cause Lyme disease.