Fast detection of Sepsis and other conditions

VILLE SAINT-LAURENT, Que. – bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced that its BIOFIRE Blood Culture Identification 2 (BCID2) Panel has received Health Canada approval. The BIOFIRE BCID2 Panel for rapid molecular diagnostic of bloodstream infection includes several additional pathogens, an expanded list of antimicrobial resistance genes, and many revised targets compared to the existing BIOFIRE BCID Panel.

Sepsis resulting from bloodstream infection is the 12th leading cause of death in Canada. Each year, nearly 75,000 patients are diagnosed with a mortality rate of over 40. Time to diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial therapy is imperative, since for each hour that severe sepsis goes untreated, the average mortality rate increases by 7.6%.

Julie Émond, vice-president & general manager, bioMérieux Canada, said: “BIOFIRE BCID2 is a significant addition to our existing sepsis-related diagnostic offering, enabling clinicians to accelerate sepsis diagnosis and provide the right therapy faster, proven to improve survivorship.”

Jessica Blavignac, director of scientific & medical affairs, bioMérieux Canada, added: “Rapid molecular syndromic testing is literally a game-changer. With sepsis, each hour counts. The BIOFIRE BCID2 panel empowers small and large laboratories across Canada to shorten time to pathogen identification by up to 70% and to the optimal therapy initiation by 33.5 hours. BIOFIRE BCID2 is also an important ally to Antimicrobial Stewardship.”

The BIOFIRE BCID2 Panel tests for 43 targets associated with bloodstream infections, including gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, yeast, and 10 antimicrobial resistance genes – all with one test and with results available in about an hour from positive blood culture. Quickly identifying the cause of bloodstream infections and sepsis may help clinicians more rapidly and appropriately manage therapy. Rapid identification of bloodstream pathogens and relevant antimicrobial resistance genes can help reduce the time to appropriate antimicrobial therapy and may positively impact patient survival.

This BIOFIRE BCID2 Panel enhances BIOFIRE’s syndromic offering to a new disease state in addition to the four other syndromes covered by the BIOFIRE menu, making it the broadest menu of highly multiplex syndromic panels in existence and available to the labs today: Respiratory, Meningitis/Encephalitis and Gastrointestinal.

About bioMérieux
A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics since 1963, bioMérieux is present in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries with the support of a large network of distributors. In 2021, revenues reached €3.4 billion, with over 90% of sales outside of France. bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software and services) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are mainly used for diagnosing infectious diseases. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. For more information, visit www.biomerieux.com and www.biomerieux.ca.