MARCY L’ETOILE, France & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
bioMérieux (Paris:BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, and Illumina (Nasdaq:ILMN), a world leader in genomics, announce the launch of bioMérieux EpiSeq™, an innovative next-generation sequencing (NGS) service dedicated to the epidemiological monitoring and control of healthcare-associated infections. The bioMérieux EpiSeqTM service is the first result of the collaboration agreement signed by bioMérieux and Illumina in November 2014 bringing together the companies’ respective leadership positions in microbiology and NGS to jointly develop applications for microbiology sequencing.
bioMérieux EpiSeq™ provides highly accurate information to health professionals for characterization of bacteria. By giving hospitals an improved understanding of the genetic markers of virulence and resistance, the service can help them understand how bacteria are transmitted, while enabling better containment of an epidemic, limiting the spread of infectious agents and improving surveillance approaches.
“We are proud to partner with bioMérieux to bring this first-of-its-kind offering to market,” said Jay Flatley, Chief Executive Officer of Illumina. “NGS can be used to better characterize and understand infection-causing bacteria on a whole genome basis. With the growth of antibiotic resistant strains, this unique offering couldn’t be more timely or important to the future of public health.”
Hospitals facing a suspected epidemic or health crisis will be able to send bacterial isolates to a service laboratory designated by bioMérieux and equipped with an Illumina MiSeq® sequencer. The genomic data is stored in a secure cloud platform and analyzed using the database and software developed by bioMérieux. Results showing the genomic profile of the infectious agents and the genetic variations identified by sequencing will be sent by bioMérieux to healthcare professionals in a customized, easy-to-interpret report.
The bioMérieux EpiSeq™ service will first be launched in Europe followed by North America and Asia. The menu will initially consist of Staphylococcus aureus and will subsequently be expanded to include the other bacterial species most commonly responsible for healthcare-associated infections.
“In line with our pioneering spirit, we are very pleased to be the first company to offer our customers an innovative sequencing solution in bacterial epidemiology. The bioMérieux EpiSeq™ service addresses major public health challenges, combatting infectious diseases and resistance to antibiotics,” said Jean-Luc Belingard, Chairman of bioMérieux. “The launch of bioMérieux EpiSeq™ marks a new and productive step in our partnership with Illumina for the application of NGS to bacterial genomes. This new offer represents a valuable innovation and opens up new prospects that can bring this revolutionary technology to tomorrow’s healthcare.”
ABOUT NEXT GENERATION SEQUENCING IN EPIDEMIOLOGY
Over the
years, healthcare professionals have been concerned about the emergence
and reappearance of certain infectious diseases, especially when
associated with epidemics and severe health crises. In response to these
new public health challenges, suitable epidemiological surveillance
tools must be developed to manage infectious risks effectively.
Moreover, the bacteria that cause infections often develop antibiotic
resistance mechanisms, and the surveillance of these strains is
instrumental in infection control efforts.
When used as an
epidemiological tool, whole genome sequencing will allow laboratories to
obtain extremely precise information about bacteria believed to be
involved in infection transmission or as the cause of outbreaks and
epidemics. Sequencing will make it possible to establish a correlation
between the different characteristics of an infectious agent to
determine the chronology of transmission and monitor its spread. This
wealth of information will facilitate and speed up decisions by
healthcare professionals specialized in infection control in order to
take effective measures to limit the spread of these pathogens.
ABOUT BIOMÉRIEUX
Pioneering Diagnostics
A
world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 50 years,
bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 42 subsidiaries
and a large network of distributors. In 2014, revenues reached €1,698
million with 88% of sales outside of France.
bioMérieux provides
diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) which determine
the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and
ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious
diseases and providing high medical value results for cancer screening
and monitoring and cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for
detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic
products.
bioMérieux is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market -
(Symbol: BIM – ISIN: FR0010096479).
Corporate website: www.biomerieux.com
- Investors website: www.biomerieux-finance.com
ABOUT ILLUMINA
Illumina is transforming human health as the
global leader in sequencing and array-based technologies. The company
serves customers in a broad range of markets, enabling the adoption of
genomic solutions in research and clinical settings.
To learn how
Illumina is unlocking the power of the genome, visit www.illumina.com
and follow @illumina.