Lab21 Announce Partnership to Develop New Aspergillus Molecular Assay

Lab 21 has entered into an agreement with an undisclosed world leading diagnostic business, to develop an assay for the detection of Aspergillus species for the partner’s real time PCR platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lab21 will use its molecular diagnostic development resource and proprietary intellectual property in the fungal diagnostic area to develop and manufacture the new Aspergillus test as OEM reagents for the partner platform.

Aspergillus infection is a leading cause of death in immunocompromised patients. Studies have shown that diagnosis of Aspergillus infection followed by antifungal treatment within the first 10 days of infection reduces mortality from 90 percent to 40 percent, highlighting the need for rapid, accurate testing. Real-time polymerase chain assays using Lab21 technology have been shown to provide significant advantages in sensitivity and specificity over the current culture techniques.

Graham Mullis, CEO of Lab21, commented: “We are pleased to enter into a new agreement to develop this assay. The MycAssay™ Aspergillus test provides rapid, accurate clinical information that allows health professionals to make life-saving treatment decisions quickly. This agreement follows closely behind the similar deal made with BD last year.”

Berwyn Clarke, CSO of Lab21, added: “The platform we will be using for the new assay is one which is becoming increasingly well adopted within clinical diagnostic laboratories worldwide. Independent clinical validation studies have already shown that both the new Lab21 Aspergillus1,2 and Pneumocystis3 assays are setting new standards in clinical diagnosis of these clinically important fungal pathogens. We expect the new assays to be significant components of the growing menu of our partner’s molecular diagnostic portfolio.”