New Weaponry Available in Antimicrobial Resistance Fight: Don’t Send Us Back to the Dark Ages! Part 2

The European Antibiotics Awareness Day raised international awareness of antimicrobial resistance in Australia, Canada and the USA. Randox Laboratories announced its support for the call for patients and prescribers to ‘resist and desist’ antibiotic use, in an effort to curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Sonia Nicholas, Clinical Diagnostics Editor, spoke to Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director at Randox Laboratories, about the rising use of antibiotics and a new multiplex respiratory assay that could help physicians make improvements to their antibiotic prescriptions.

Read Part 1

SN: Can you tell us more about Randox’s new test for respiratory infections?

PF: The Randox Respiratory Multiplex Array is the most comprehensive screening test for upper and lower respiratory tract infections, simultaneously detecting 22 bacterial and viral pathogens from a single swab, sputum or lavage sample. While other assays can include only commonly circulating pathogens, such as those detected during annual flu seasons, the Randox Respiratory Multiplex Array covers all key infections, regardless of season or symptoms, including common colds, flus and pneumonia. Analysis can be completed from template DNA through PCR to data readout in less than six hours, for rapid and accurate first-time diagnosis.

SN: How is the test carried out and what technology does it utilize?

PF: The Randox Respiratory Multiplex Array utilizes innovative Randox biochip array technology (BAT), a multi-analyte testing platform allowing the simultaneous detection of a wide range of analytes from a single sample. The assay is based on a combination of multiplex PCR and biochip array hybridization. Innovative PCR priming technology permits high discrimination between multiple targets. A unique primer set is designed for each target, which will hybridize to a complementary discrete test region (DTR) on the Randox proprietary biochip array. This combination of Randox priming and spatially organized biochip array technology enables high multiplexing of the assay through chemiluminescence detection.

SN: How easy is it for clinical laboratories to implement this test into everyday practice? Is the test available globally?

PF: Optimized for use with the Randox Evidence Investigator, a compact, semi-automated bench top platform applicable in a wide range of settings, this user-friendly assay can run 54 samples simultaneously in six hours. The straightforward testing procedure, ready-to-use biochips and minimal sample handling all enables the assay to be easily adopted into routine testing within the clinical or molecular laboratory. The Evidence Investigator dedicated software package also provides easy to interpret results, reducing time spent on data analysis and interpretation for faster reporting.

The Randox Respiratory Multiplex Array is CE marked for routine clinical use. FDA approval is pending.

Related articles:

• Randox Calls for Patients and Prescribers to ‘Resist and Desist’ Antibiotic Use
  
• The NHS could Save £500m ($785m) Annually by More Accurate use of Antibiotics