Abbott’s PLEX-ID and Three Clinical Tests Obtain CE Marking

Abbott has announced that it has obtained CE Marking in the European Union to market its rapid, high-throughput PLEX-ID™ instrument, along with three assays for use on the system: PLEX-ID Viral IC Spectrum, PLEX-ID BAC Spectrum BC and PLEX-ID Flu.

PLEX-ID combines high levels of sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology with the precision and accuracy of mass spectrometry. This allows for the identification and characterization of broad groups of organisms without having to narrowly focus on detecting each organism individually.

The system provides results in less than eight hours instead of the days or even weeks required for traditional culture methods. The technology has the unique advantage of being able to characterize a very wide range of microorganisms directly from clinical specimens, minimizing both the amount of time and laboratory work required to provide physicians important information they can use to best tailor treatment for the patient.

"Ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate antimicrobial therapy as rapidly as possible has the potential to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, and help to reduce or slow the development of resistant bacterial strains," said Jacques Schrenzel, M.D., head of the Bacteriological Laboratory, University Hospital Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.

"PLEX-ID is the only available diagnostic technology that is capable of identifying a wide range of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and certain parasites in hours," said Murthy Simhambhatla, Ph.D., head of Abbott's Ibis Biosciences business. "The introduction of the PLEX-ID provides physicians and laboratorians a revolutionary new platform for the rapid etiologic identification of a wide variety of pathogens in patients."