LHNVD Announces PrimeStore® Molecular Transport Medium Significantly Improves Cepheid Xpert® MTB/RIF Sensitivity In Crucial Low Copy Samples
Expanding Access to Testing and Reducing False Negative Results is Crucial to Stopping the Spread of Tuberculosis Worldwide
BETHESDA, Maryland, July 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC (LHNVD) today announced the online publication of "Xpert® MTB/RIF Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Sputum Collected in Molecular Transport Medium" in the IJTLD August 2016 issue. Previously published studies have demonstrated that sputum placed in PrimeStore® MTM significantly improved real-time PCR sensitivity for the detection of tuberculosis, in some cases making it more sensitive than culture. This is the first published study demonstrating that PrimeStore® MTM can improve the lower level sensitivity of the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay by a log factor with one tenth of the amount of sputum.
"The sensitivity of sputum-based diagnostic tests for M. tuberculosis is largely dependent on the efficiency of sputum processing protocols," stated Veronica Allen and colleagues from the University of Cape Town. *
Studies have previously demonstrated that PrimeStore® MTM fully inactivates tuberculosis and other pathogens and stabilizes them for transport at temperatures up to 40° C in excess of 30 days.
PrimeStore® MTM could be an important component in the ongoing rollout of the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay in India, China, Africa, and across the Developing World by improving safety, providing access to more patients, and reducing false negative results.
LHNVD will provide special pricing for PrimeStore® MTM and its entire line of TB diagnostic products for Resource Constrained Countries, and work with all stakeholders to ensure availability for all populations.
About Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)
According to the World Health Organization, approximately one third of the world population has been infected with MTB and it is estimated that 10% of those infected will progress to active disease. The majority of people with active MTB disease live in the developing world and currently do not have access to adequate testing.
About PrimeStore® MTM
PrimeStore® MTM is optimized to inactivate/kill infectious biological pathogens, including MTB, gram positive/negative bacteria, and viruses. It disrupts/lyses lipid membranes and inactivates nucleases. PrimeStore® MTM preserves and stabilizes RNA and DNA at ambient temperature and is compatible with manual and high throughput RNA/DNA isolation kits. PrimeStore® MTM eliminates cold chain costs for shipping and initial testing. Samples in PrimeStore® MTM can be frozen for multi-year storage and are not degraded by multiple freeze/thaw cycles.
Published studies supported by a variety of organizations to include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control (US), National Institutes of Health (US), PEPFAR, and USAID, have demonstrated PrimeStore MTM's capabilities for collecting, transporting, and storage for molecular testing of a variety of sample types.
About LHNVD
Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC (LHNVD) is a closely held limited liability company headquartered in Bethesda, MD. www.lhnvd.com.
Xpert® MTB/RIF and GeneXpert® are the registered trademarks of Cepheid, (Sunnyvale, CA, USA) All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law
*Allen et al, March 2016 R&R:JMB
Share this article