Cepheid announces international availability of updated Xpert Carba-R test to identify Superbugs

Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) today announced the international availability of an update to Xpert® Carba-R, with the addition of two newly emerging carbapenemase genes, OXA-181 and OXA-232. The on-demand, molecular test also detects and differentiates among the five most prevalent mechanisms of carbapenem resistance, namely KPC, NDM, VIM, IMP-1 and OXA-48.

"Carbapenem-resistant organisms, commonly referred to as CROs or Superbugs, are a growing and expensive challenge for healthcare providers around the world," said John Bishop, Cepheid's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Xpert Carba-R provides a much-needed tool for rapid and accurate detection of patients potentially colonized with these multidrug resistant organisms, and could help prevent or control outbreaks and determine the best infection prevention pathways."

"Xpert Carba-R cartridge now detects 91 resistance genes distributed among 5 distinct gene families, many of which are extremely difficult to detect by using conventional laboratory procedures, in less than an hour," added David Persing, M.D., Ph.D., Cepheid's Chief Medical and Technology Officer. "Rapid detection of these organisms in surveillance swabs allows health care providers to make infection control decisions quickly and avoid the inconvenience and expense of placing patients in isolation rooms unnecessarily."

"Rapid detection of carbapenemase-producing organisms using the GeneXpert system is a crucial part of our infection control program," noted Dr. Edoardo Carretto, Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at IRCCS - Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, in Reggio Emilia, Italy. "The instrument is easy to use and the Xpert Carba-R assay, which now includes detection of OXA-48, OXA181, and OXA232, in addition to KPCs, VIMs, IMPs, and NDMs, takes less than one hour to complete. This short turn-around-time is critical for infection control decisions, especially at the admission time of patients who may be at high risk for colonization."