bioMérieux Launches VIDAS® B·R·A·H·M·S PCT, a Procalcitonin Measurement Test Allowing Early Detection of Severe Bacterial Infections

30 März, 2007

bioMérieux, a global leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, today announces the launch of VIDAS® B·R·A·H·M·S PCT. This new, CE approved test, was developed following the licensing agreement signed with B·R·A·H·M·S, enabling bioMérieux to develop, produce and market a test for measuring procalcitonin (PCT) levels. The test is sensitive and specific, used in the early detection of severe bacterial infections (e.g. sepsis).

"The new VIDAS® B·R·A·H·M·S PCT test is of high medical value for clinicians, improving patient treatment. It complements bioMérieux's emergency range perfectly and is another illustration of our strategy in action," states Stéphane Bancel, bioMérieux's Chief Executive Officer. "The launch in Europe is an important first step, which will be followed by the filing of an FDA application to market the test in North America," he adds.

Procalcitonin has been recognized as a marker of choice, assisting clinicians in the early detection and therapeutic follow-up of bacterial infections. In fact, the initial clinical signs of bacterial infection are non-specific, sometimes leading to diagnostic and therapeutic delays that compromise the prognosis. As the progression of severe bacterial infections is affected by how early the patient receives treatment, measuring procalcitonin levels is valuable, not only in emergency rooms to enable a quick medical decision, but also in intensive care units where sepsis represents a major problem.

With over 20,000 VIDAS® systems installed worldwide, bioMérieux is making the procalcitonin testing accessible to a large number of laboratories.

This launch reinforces bioMérieux’s commitment in the field of sepsis, with BacT/ALERT® for blood culture, VITEK® 2 for automated identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing, and in the future, GeneXpert® for rapid identification.

About severe bacterial infections and Sepsis

Sepsis is the body's reaction to an infection, which varies in terms of severity.
Every year, severe sepsis strikes an estimated 750,000 people in the United States, 215,000 of whom die1. The incidence of severe sepsis is expected to rise to 1 million by the end of the decade as the population ages. Sepsis is the leading cause of death in the non-coronary ICU (1,2).

  1. Angus DC, Linde-Zwirble WT, Lidicker J, et al. Epidemiology of severe sepsis in the United States: analysis of incidence, outcome, and associated costs of care. Crit Care Med 2001; 29: 1303-10.
  2. Vincent JL, Sakr Y, Sprung CL, et al. Sepsis in European intensive care units: results of the SOAP study. Crit Care Med 2006; 34: 344-53.
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