BD Diagnostics and Biodiversity Collaborate to Develop Portfolio of Assays on the BD MAX™ System
BD Diagnostics, a segment of global medical technology company BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Biodiversity SpA, a private biotechnology company focusing on molecular diagnostics, announced today a regional collaboration to develop and commercialize a comprehensive molecular diagnostic menu for immunocompromised patients on the BD MAX™ System. This portfolio will be designed to improve monitoring of infections in transplant patients and will accelerate BD's time to market with the BD MAX platform's open-capability architecture.
"This collaboration combines the BD MAX System's advanced automation and open system capabilities with Biodiversity's broad portfolio and track record at bringing to market molecular assays for the management of transplant patients," said Tom Polen, President, BD Diagnostics -- Diagnostic Systems. "This will empower laboratories with a new choice to improve the efficiency, accuracy and speed to diagnose these types of infections. Our collaboration with Biodiversity also represents another milestone in developing the BD MAX System as the platform of choice to meet our customers' current and future molecular needs."
Following a transplant, patients are typically treated with drugs designed to suppress their immune system to prevent rejection. In this immunocompromised state, patients can be at high risk for infection. Early and accurate diagnosis of infection is often essential to monitor and protect patient health following a transplant procedure. Assays developed under the collaboration for the BD MAX System can expand testing capabilities for molecular laboratories with the ability to run many different assays and samples simultaneously, which can lead to faster testing results and potentially earlier diagnosis for patients.
"With molecular testing established as the standard of care for managing transplant patients, the BD MAX System will allow testing to be conducted with a standardized and fully automated workflow. At Biodiversity, our extensive assay experience in molecular transplant diagnostics is ideally positioned to capitalize on the technological advantages of the BD MAX System, making it possible to deliver a major advance in terms of efficiency, accuracy and ease-of-use for laboratories," said Giovanni Mantero, Chief Executive Officer, Biodiversity SpA.
Under the terms of the agreement, Biodiversity will develop a portfolio of molecular assays for the detection of infections in immunocompromised patients using the BD MAX System's open architecture. Assays developed through this collaboration are intended to be CE marked for sale and distribution in Europe, with future expansion to additional regions.
According to Polen, BD plans to bring new assays to the BD MAX System in a broad range of disease categories. With this announcement, there are now more than 15 assays in the BD MAX System's content-rich menu pipeline. Combined with open capability, full automation and standardized workflow, the BD MAX System will enable laboratories to consolidate and standardize their molecular tests to build programs that meet both their current and future clinical needs.
About BD
BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The Company is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world. BD is focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers, and advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines. BD's capabilities are instrumental in combating many of the world's most pressing diseases. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 29,000 associates in more than 50 countries throughout the world. The Company serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. For more information, please visit http://www.bd.com.
About Biodiversity SpA
Biodiversity was founded in 2002 by a group of managers and researchers spanning twenty years-experience in molecular diagnostics and biotechnology. United by a common commitment to new technologies for life science, the company is focused on molecular diagnostics as their core business, with a unique model providing integrated solutions to multiple molecular diagnostic-related areas. The Company's mission is the development, production and commercialization of new molecular diagnostics products, services and technologies in the biomedical and clinical diagnostics, veterinary and animal science, agriculture and agro-food, and industrial microbiology. For more information, please visit http://www.biodiv.it.
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