NEW YORK – MicroGen Diagnostics said last week that it has inked a partnership with German medical laboratory Labor Dr. Fenner and Colleagues to offer rapid microbial DNA sequencing services to European customers.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Healthcare professionals across Europe can send patient samples to Labor Dr. Fenner in Hamburg, Germany, and receive diagnostic reports within three to five days. The report contains a full microbial profile while identifying resistance genes to support targeted and personalized treatment decisions, according to the companies.
In an email, Ewald Kreid, MicroGen Dx's managing director in Europe, said target customers for the test are hospital clinicians and specialist physicians working in an outpatient setting, as well as laboratories looking to offer the test to their customers.
MicroGen Dx, based in Texas, is "contributing its body of clinical evidence, laboratory protocols, and bioinformatics resources built over more than 10 years in the US with more than 750,000 patient samples sequenced," Kreid noted. Additionally, the company has set up a European subsidiary in Vienna to drive the marketing and distribution of the test in Europe.
Meanwhile, Labor Dr. Fenner is providing its expertise and infrastructure in DNA sequencing to conduct the test. It will also support customers with the interpretation of the results with its team of in-house physicians, according to Kreid.
"This partnership allows us to offer groundbreaking DNA-based infection diagnostics across Europe. With more precise microbial identification, clinicians can optimize treatment decisions, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and improve patient outcomes," Thomas Fenner, managing director of Labor Dr. Fenner, said in a statement.