Molecular Detection Inc. and Launch Diagnostics Ltd. Announce Distribution Agreement and Launch of Detect-Ready™ MRSA Assay in UK and Ireland

WAYNE, Pa. and LONGFIELD, England, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready™ assays designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, and Launch Diagnostics Ltd. today announced an exclusive distribution agreement for MDI's Detect-Ready MRSA assay in the UK, France and Republic of Ireland.  They also announced the commercial launch of the Detect-Ready MRSA assay, which offers healthcare providers a high performance MRSA screening test with an unmatched combination of accuracy, speed, flexibility and cost-effectiveness, in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.  Launch Diagnostics is a leading independent distributor of quality medical products including clinical diagnostics, instrumentation and consumables.

"Our innovative Detect-Ready MRSA assay offers important advantages to the rapidly growing market for MRSA screening, and we are delighted to finalise this distribution agreement with Launch Diagnostics for the important British, Irish and French markets," said Todd Wallach, CEO of MDI.  "Our goal was to identify a respected independent distributor with a strong track record in the successful introduction of innovative healthcare products, and we have found such a partner in Launch Diagnostics, which has established relationships at potential major accounts and ongoing responsibility for one of the key analytic platforms that runs our assay.  We intend to continue working closely with the company to ensure a successful Detect-Ready MRSA assay launch in the high profile UK market, which is an acknowledged leader in establishing successful MRSA control programs."

Drug-resistant, potentially deadly MRSA infections are a growing problem in healthcare facilities around the world.  The Detect-Ready MRSA kit is a qualitative real-time PCR (rt-PCR) in vitro diagnostic test for the direct detection of MRSA nasal colonisation to aid in the prevention and control of MRSA infections in hospitals and other healthcare settings.  The proprietary technology in the Detect-Ready kits provides a unique differential diagnosis engine that produces highly accurate results, minimising the false positives and false negatives experienced with other diagnostic screening kits.  Samples for testing are simple to obtain using nasal swabs and the assay's ready-to-use pre-mixed reagents require only the addition of patient sample to run the test, which provides results in less than three hours.  

Unlike other testing products that require special handling, Detect-Ready kits are off-the-shelf room temperature-stabilised and require no refrigeration.  Detect-Ready kits are compatible with multiple rt-PCR platforms currently found in clinical laboratories, including the Roche LightCycler®, Qiagen RotorGene® and Cepheid SmartCycler®.  The flexibility to leverage existing infrastructure and equipment to run Detect-Ready assays eliminates the need for additional hospital capital investment.  

"Launch Diagnostics has been providing high quality marketing and distribution support to leading in vitro diagnostics manufacturers for 20 years, and we are very pleased to have been selected to introduce the Detect-Ready MRSA assay into a number of key European markets," said John Twycross, Joint Managing Director, Launch Diagnostics.  "MRSA infections are a major problem in health facilities worldwide and the markets we serve, such as the UK, are introducing major proactive MRSA control programmes.  With its unmatched combination of accuracy, speed, versatility and cost-effectiveness, we believe the Detect-Ready MRSA assay addresses an important unmet need.  We look forward to bringing our expertise, infrastructure and commitment to customer service to help ensure its commercial success."

The Detect-Ready MRSA assay kit has received the CE mark certification for sales in the European Union.

About Molecular Detection

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a U.S.-based company with offices in Wayne, PA, Tunbridge Wells, UK and Jerusalem, Israel, is developing and commercializing a portfolio of "sample-to-answer" Detect-Ready™ molecular diagnostic tests for the detection of infectious diseases.  The company's first product is a ready-to-use rapid detection DNA-probe screening test for MRSA.  These staph infections represent a growing problem to the healthcare system because they cause high mortality, are resistant to treatment, and are easily spread in hospitals.  Successful MRSA control efforts rely on screening potential carriers to prevent the spread of the disease.  The Detect-Ready MRSA test provides increased accuracy, faster time to results and more efficient utilization of hospital resources compared to other MRSA diagnostic products.  MDI's real-time PCR tests are based on novel patent-pending technologies for differential diagnosis and room temperature stabilization.  For more information, visit www.detect-ready.com.  

About Launch Diagnostics

Launch Diagnostics, with offices in Longfield, UK, Sligo, Republic of Ireland and Paris, France, are market leading independent distributors of in vitro diagnostic reagents, instrumentation and associated consumables.  The three units, although fully integrated, also ensure regional support with a regular presence in all of the pathology disciplines in the main laboratories and hospitals.  Over the last 20 years Launch Diagnostics have taken many manufacturers' kits and instruments to market leadership by selecting the most appropriate product for their markets and then offering their customer base an excellent level of support from the basic mechanics of purchasing, through local assistance to full product management and instrumentation breakdown and preventative maintenance.

SOURCE Molecular Detection Inc.