Cepheid Launches Xpert™ MRSA Test for GeneXpert® System

Cepheid has announced the European release of the Xpert™ MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) test for clinical diagnostic use on the GeneXpert^® System.

The MRSA test was released as a CE IVD Mark product under the European Directive on In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices.

The Xpert MRSA test is designed to detect MRSA in patients for surveillance programs to aid in the reduction of hospital acquired infections (HAI).

MRSA is a type of Staphylococcus aureus, which is the most common cause of HAI that resists traditional antibiotic treatment methods requiring specialized antibiotics to effectively treat.

"The onus is on health-care authorities to develop not only surveillance systems that are able to monitor the clonal dynamics of MRSA over wide geographical areas but also to provide the resources for early recognition of MRSA carriers through rapid screening," said Professor Hajo Grundmann, MD, Centre for Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the Netherlands.

"The control of hospital acquired infections (HAI) represents a potential market opportunity of up to $2 billion," said Cepheid Chief Executive Officer John Bishop.

"A key element to combating the HAI problem is the ability of the hospital to rapidly identify the potential presence of the disease causing organisms twenty four hours a day seven days a week."

"The Xpert MRSA test run on our GeneXpert system is uniquely positioned to help provide this 24/7 ability to hospitals and is the first in a series of tests expecting to range from vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) to Clostridium difficile."

Xpert MRSA is intended to detect MRSA directly from a nasal swab specimen and provides results in about seventy-five minutes.

The results delivered through use of Xpert MRSA are expected to allow early identification of potential carriers and to allow the proper precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of disease.