Ten-Color System Simultaneously Detects More Microbial Targets

A New technology will deliver more cost-effective infectious disease panel testing applications by increasing the total number of diagnostic results per sample. The 10-color system will have the potential to detect simultaneously up to 100 different targets per sample when coupled with virtual array technology.

The technology offers an assay for multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). It will also enable the development of other new, comprehensive antimicrobial resistance and oncology tests.

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA) has received a notice of grant award from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID; Bethesda, MD, USA) to develop the new 10-color detection technology for use in the company's GeneXpert system. A US$7.5 million grant will be awarded to Cepheid and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ; Newark, NJ, USA) for the planned five-year program.

The GeneXpert System is a closed, self-contained, fully integrated, and automated platform that represents a paradigm shift in the automation of molecular analysis, producing accurate results in a timely manner with minimal risk of contamination. The current GeneXpert system is capable of six-color detection, with the potential for up to 60 different targets per sample.

The GeneXpert system combines on-board sample preparation with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and detection functions for fully integrated and automated nucleic acid analysis. The system is designed to purify, concentrate, detect, and identify targeted nucleic acid sequences thereby delivering answers directly from unprocessed samples. Modular in design, the GeneXpert system has a variety of configurations to meet the broad range of testing demands found in clinical environments.

"The workup of many infectious conditions requires considerable guesswork on the part of clinicians, who typically order multiple individual tests for suspected etiologic agents,” said David Persing, M.D., Ph.D., Cepheid's chief medical and technology officer. "A 10-color cartridge, in combination with our virtual array technology, gives us the ability to detect as many as 100 distinct targets in a single test. This feature eliminates the need for guesswork, and when performed on the GeneXpert system, will help deliver cost-effective, medically actionable results to clinicians and their patients.”

Cepheid is an on-demand molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets fully integrated systems and tests for genetic analysis in the clinical, industrial, and biothreat markets.

Related Links:
Cepheid
U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey