Cepheid Announces European Launch of GeneXpert Infinity-48 System at the 20th Annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID)

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) will initiate European launch of its newest addition to the GeneXpert® family of molecular diagnostic testing systems, the GeneXpert Infinity-48, at the 20th annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Vienna, Austria. The GeneXpert Infinity-48 System is the world's first and only fully-automated, random-access system designed for management of the entire molecular testing workflow — from sample data, cartridge loading and unloading, to final reporting of test results and disposal of cartridges.

"We're very excited to be a part of the 20th anniversary of this renowned congress where we will officially debut our new GeneXpert Infinity-48 System in Europe," said Nico Arnold, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Operations for Cepheid. "The GeneXpert family of Systems, including the Infinity-48, represents the next generation in automated molecular testing. With our expanding pipeline of rapid, accurate, and easy-to-use tests, the GeneXpert System is positioned to become the molecular platform of choice."

Cepheid is also hosting an integrated symposium at the Congress, entitled The Medical and Public Health Impact of Rapid Molecular Testing. This will take place as part of the official program on Monday, April 12th, in Lecture Hall F2 from 9:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. The schedule for the symposium is as follows:

The company will also be demonstrating the full menu of GeneXpert-based CE IVD molecular diagnostic tests at booth #261 on the exhibition floor, including:

• Xpert® Flu A Panel: Detection of FluA and identification of 2009 H1N1 novel
• Xpert® MTB/RIF: Simultaneous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and resistance to rifampicin
• Xpert® C. difficile: Accurate detection of Clostridium difficile infection
• Xpert® vanA/vanB: Screening for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE)
• Xpert® MRSA: Screening for nasal carriage of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
• Xpert® MRSA/SA BC: Diagnostic test for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and S. aureus in positive patient blood culture bottles
• Xpert® MRSA/SA Nasal: Pre-Surgical testing for Staphylococcus aureus and  Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus
• Xpert® MRSA/SA SSTI: Diagnostic test for Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus in skin and soft tissue
• Xpert® EV: Rapid diagnostic test for enteroviral meningitis
• Xpert® GBS: Accurate and rapid detection of vaginal carriage of Group B
• Streptococcus
• Xpert® BCR-ABL Monitor: Simple and rapid monitoring test for improved Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) patient management
• Xpert® HemosIL FII & FV*: Detection of factor II and factor V Leiden genetic variations associated with thrombophilia

About the GeneXpert Infinity-48 Molecular Diagnostic System

Cepheid's GeneXpert Infinity-48 System, which uses robotic cartridge handling managed through a touch-screen driven menu, is capable of running a variety of molecular tests with a through-put capability of over 1,300 samples in a 24-hour period. With each of the system's 48 testing modules working as completely independent testing sites, the Infinity-48 System can start test runs whenever samples are taken — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Delivering true walk away ease-of-use, the Infinity-48 System is designed to maximize workflow while further accelerating time-to-result, enabling healthcare providers to make more informed patient management and treatment decisions.

About Cepheid

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) is an on-demand molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and markets fully-integrated systems and tests 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 http://www.cepheid.com for more information.

*Exclusively distributed by Instrumentation Laboratory

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not purely historical regarding Cepheid's or its management's intentions, beliefs, expectations and strategies for the future, including those relating to product performance, product pipeline and future market opportunities. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the company's current expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as those relating to: unforeseen manufacturing problems; our ability to develop and complete clinical trials successfully in a timely manner for new products; uncertainties related to the FDA regulatory and European regulatory processes; unforeseen development and manufacturing problems; the potential need for additional intellectual property licenses for tests and other products and the terms of such licenses; the impact of competitive products and pricing; regulatory developments and practices regarding testing levels; customer and market acceptance of the product; the failure of products to perform as fast or as accurately as expected, whether due to manufacturing errors, defects or otherwise; the impact of competitive products and pricing; potentially lengthy sales cycles in some markets; reimbursement rates for the products; and underlying market conditions worldwide. Readers should also refer to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Cepheid's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2009 and in its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All forward-looking statements and reasons why results might differ included in this release are made as of the date of this press release, based on information currently available to Cepheid, and Cepheid assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement or reasons why results might differ.

SOURCE Cepheid