Invitrogen co-develop rapid MRSA-detection technology
Invitrogen has developed a unique way of detecting MRSA using fluorescent technology, which is faster than traditional methods and less expensive than quantitative PCR.
Working in partnership with Biosynth, a Swiss manufacturer of specialty chemicals for the life science and pharmaceutical industries, Invitrogen has developed a culture media that glows when a specific enzymatic reaction indicative of MRSA presence occurs.
This cell culture media can tell diagnostic test labs in eight to 12 hours whether MRSA is present, compared to the conventional 48 hours time period.
The new BCM(R) MRSA ELF(R) culture media will be manufactured and sold by Biosynth under license from Invitrogen's Molecular Probes business.
"MRSA is an enormous public threat and can jeopardize the lives of tens of thousands of hospital patients, among others, each year," said Dr. Urs Spitz, ceo of Biosynth. "This deadly infection has been difficult and expensive to rapidly identify, with traditional culture methods taking two days to yield results. In addition, nucleic acid tests are too expensive to use for routine screening and may result in false positives. We're pleased to work with Invitrogen to develop rapid, low cost, reliable screening tools such as this media for use in clinical and environmental testing."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 90,000 Americans contract potentially deadly infections from MRSA each year, and more than 18,000 die from such infections. MRSA accounts for more than 50% of hospital infections and 63 percent of S. aureus infections in intensive care units. Healthcare costs associated with MRSA are estimated to be $2.5bn per year. Constant surveillance is the key to controlling spread of infection and reducing costs.
"The launch of this new media for MRSA detection is another example of how we are deploying our proprietary technologies to address threats to public health," said Kip Miller, senior vice president, BioDiscovery at Invitrogen. "We will continue to seek out partnerships, like the one we have with Biosynth, through which we can help power innovation with a direct impact on human health."
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition.