MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Specific Diagnostics announced today that the Department of Defense has awarded the Company a grant to utilize the Reveal Rapid AST System for rapid assessment of the efficacy of bacteriophage in expressing pathogens.
Reveal determines bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs in an average of 5 hours, allowing same-shift adjustment of treatment, saving lives while reducing costs and improving the utilization of antibiotics. In responding to the DoD call, Specific conducted preliminary demonstrations establishing that Reveal can also be used to test bacterial susceptibility to phage therapy, a new means to treat the most highly drug resistant infections, potentially even those that respond to no available antibiotic.
According to the DHHS, resistant pathogens cause 2.8 million infections and at least 35,000 deaths every year in the USA. With bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, driven in part by overuse, bacteriophage therapy represents a distinct and promising alternative to antibiotic therapy.
“In the age of antibiotic resistance, alternatives to antibiotics are increasingly needed,” said Dr. Paul A. Rhodes, Specific’s CEO. “While the Reveal instrument had proven its capability for rapid assessment of antibiotic drug efficacy, we were excited to consider its efficacy as a bacteriophage platform.
About Specific
Specific Diagnostics has developed in vitro diagnostic systems based upon a unique, patented metabolomic signature technology that enables rapid detection and identification of microorganisms as they grow in culture. Its first commercial application applies this fundamental new capability to the rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility directly from positive blood cultures, as well as isolate dilutions. Specific is based in Mountain View, CA. For press inquiries, please contact: Jeff Holman, press@specificdx.com
