Cepheid Introduces GeneXpert(R) 16-Site System
Monday May 22, 7:00 am ET
Modular High-Throughput GeneXpert System is the First Fully-Integrated, Closed, On-demand Molecular Methods System
ORLANDO, ASM ANNUAL MEETING (BOOTH #701), May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD - News), a broad-based molecular diagnostics company, today introduced the GeneXpert® 16-Site System at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The latest addition to Cepheid's GeneXpert® family of real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) devices provides a high-throughput, fully-automated solution to deliver results quickly and efficiently to hospitals and laboratories.
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While current molecular methods deliver highly sensitive, specific and rapid results compared to culture-based approaches, molecular biology labs generally run tests when a sufficient number of samples is reached to justify processing a batch. As a result, even though time of analysis is minutes or hours, effective turnaround time is often a day or more depending on the test. Batch processing is no longer the only option, as Cepheid's GeneXpert 16-Site System has the flexibility to run up to 16 different molecular tests simultaneously, with minimal hands-on time, thereby delivering the power of true on-demand testing. The GeneXpert System is expected to provide the molecular laboratory with the ability to start test runs anytime samples are collected-24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"Cepheid's GeneXpert technology represents a true paradigm shift in the practical implementation of real-time PCR," said Cepheid CEO John Bishop. "No longer limited by batch processing protocols and laborious manual procedures, laboratorians can now have access to critical answers when they need them. In addition, laboratories will have a unique ability to run the exact same tests on a high through-put main lab system or on a desktop system in a satellite lab."
Cepheid's GeneXpert Systems are the first to combine sample preparation with real time PCR amplification and detection functions for fully integrated and automated nucleic acid analysis. The system purifies, concentrates, detects and identifies targeted nucleic acid sequences, delivering results in as little as one to two hours from unprocessed specimens.
The GeneXpert® 16-Site System is configurable from 4 to16 modules, allowing users to expand their system as demand for assays increase. The system boasts full random access capabilities performing multiple molecular tests simultaneously. The automated software eliminates the need for interpretation by users, which enables the laboratory to be more efficient with more tests.
Availability
Shipments of the GeneXpert 16-Site System are expected to begin in the 4th quarter of 2006. The system will support the current menu of tests available on the GeneXpert 4-Site System and all GeneXpert tests in the product pipeline.
About Cepheid
Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD - News), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets fully-integrated systems for genetic analysis in the clinical, industrial and biothreat markets. The company's systems enable rapid, sophisticated genetic testing for organisms and genetic-based diseases by automating otherwise complex manual laboratory procedures. The company's easy-to-use systems integrate a number of complicated and time-intensive steps, including sample preparation, DNA amplification and detection, which enable the analysis of complex biological samples in its proprietary test cartridges. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where rapid molecular testing is particularly important, such as identifying infectious disease and cancer in the clinical market; food, agricultural, and environmental testing in the industrial market; and identifying bio-terrorism agents in the biothreat market. See www.cepheid.com for more information.
