Fuji and Molzym, a manufacturer of NAT diagnostic products, concluded an agreement for the joint validation and commercial exploitation of an automated sample preparation for sepsis diagnostics
Heart of the automation is the QuickGene-810 system for the automated isolation of nucleic acids, which was launched in August 2006.
In combination with Molzym's pre-analytic platform, MolYsis, and the PCR-diagnostic Septignost, an efficient and fast test for the PCR-based diagnosis of sepsis is now available.
Currently, the procedure is validated in the course of a clinical study.
Blood poisoning, also referred to as sepsis, is a severe infection.
According to a recently published study, more people die of blood poisoning than of heart attack.
Within the past two decades, this extraordinary high mortality could not be decreased, despite intensive research.
In particular, pathogen identification is of crucial significance.
This is done via blood culturing in hospitals today.
However, diagnosis takes often several days and a number of pathogens are not detected, even though procedures are standardized.
In contrast, molecular analyses (PCR- and chip-based technologies) have the invaluable advantage of providing contemporary sepsis-diagnosis within four to six hours.
Also, PCR diagnosis is not compromised, even in case antibiotic therapy has already begun.
"Up to now, PCR diagnosis was either limited in its benefits or results produced were unreliable.
"With MolYsis, we developed a completely novel solution to molecular analysis".
"Thereby, a sensitive robust and real benefits delivering test is available now", reports Prof Michael Lorenz, chief executive officer at Molzym.
A procedure for the sample preparation of this test is automated with Fujifilm at present.
"Automation is not only providing the advantage of a potentially higher sample throughput.
"In addition to that, the need for man power is reduced at the same time", says Michael Kaling, European manager life science at Fujifilm.
At present, MolYsis technology in combination with Fujifilm's QuickGene-810, is already applied as a platform technology for the development of additional molecular diagnostic procedures in a number of enterprises.
