Molecular diagnostics quality control
Bio-Rad Laboratories has made its entry into the rapidly growing molecular diagnostics testing market with the launch of Amplichek II quality control, which was recently issued a de novo clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA’s de novo clearance is a classification given to devices that are considered novel, with no existing classification or predicate device on the market. Amplichek II began shipping last May and is the first in a series of infectious disease controls that Bio-Rad is introducing for the molecular diagnostic testing market. Molecular diagnostics is one of the fastest growing IVD markets, estimated to reach $9.3 billion (€8.5 billion) by 2020 with the infectious disease segment accounting for the largest share of the global market, according to a 2015 report by research firm MarketsandMarkets. The Amplichek II quality control complements the company’s already extensive range of quality controls. Amplichek II is an independent, multi-analyte quality control that monitors the performance of in vitro laboratory nucleic acid testing procedures for the qualitative detection of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). HAIs can occur during the process of patient care within a healthcare facility. Millions of healthcare associated infections occur each year, leading to significantly high mortality rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on any given day, about one in 25 hospital patients have at least one healthcare associated infection. Early detection of these pathogens combined with the appropriate infection control procedures can help prevent the spread of HAIs and lead to improved patient care.
The Amplichek I quality control, which was recently issued a 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the second in a series of infectious disease controls that Bio-Rad is introducing for the molecular diagnostic testing this year. Amplichek I is an independent, multi-analyte quality control for the assessment of HIV-1, Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV) nucleic acid tests that can help mitigate the limitations of manufacturer controls. Unlike some controls that are optimized for specific systems, Amplichek I can help reduce the risk associated with reporting inaccurate patient results by monitoring the performance of the complete analytical process and detecting lot-to-lot variation of assay reagents.
