New FDA-Cleared Sensititre® AIM™ Automated Inoculation Delivery System Provides Faster, Accurate Dosing of MIC Plates for Microbiology Laboratories

CLEVELAND, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Magellan Biosciences, a global manufacturer of products designed to make diagnostic testing easier, more cost-effective, and less labor intensive, announced the FDA clearance of its new TREK Diagnostic Systems-brand Sensititre AIM Automated Inoculation Delivery System for use with all Sensititre dried plates. The small-footprint Sensititre AIM System quickly and accurately doses microtitre plates, eliminating both skipped wells and costly repeat tests, to improve laboratory workflow and speed results to busy clinicians.  

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The Sensititre AIM System's compact, user-friendly design is ideal for use directly on the benchtop or under a microbiology safety cabinet, providing flexible storage and accessibility and conserving valuable laboratory space. The easy-to-use, icon-driven touch screen facilitates quick selection of dosing volumes and patterns for simple, intuitive operation.

According to Magellan President and Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Uchida, Ph.D., "The goal of the new Sensititre AIM System and all of our IVD susceptibility products is to make it easier for clinicians to accurately determine the right combination of antimicrobics to fight infection and the emerging problem of drug resistance. Over the past two years, we have extended our portfolio of FDA-cleared products, including the latest FDA-cleared antimicrobics to provide a unique system that improves workflow and reduces costs.

"Systems that perform accurately while providing faster results are an obvious choice for busy laboratorians, but limited space for new instrumentation is a major concern. With the new Sensititre AIM System, laboratorians can conserve benchtop space and enhance workflow without sacrificing the accuracy they demand in plate inoculation," Dr. Uchida continued.

The AIM System has been used successfully in veterinary and pharmaceutical laboratories since its development. This recent FDA clearance expands its availability to U.S. clinical laboratories for in vitro diagnostics use. The AIM System is also CE/IVD-marked for sale outside of the U.S.

About the Sensititre Product Line

Magellan's TREK Diagnostic Systems-brand Sensititre product line for susceptibility and identification testing enables labs to more FDA-cleared antimicrobial drugs than on any other automated platform against the widest range of non-fastidious and fastidious bacteria and yeasts. This saves microbiology labs from having to use multiple off-line test procedures to obtain accurate susceptibility data. Magellan often gets early access to the latest therapeutics because pharmaceutical companies use the Sensititre system during drug development. The platform is also the system-of-choice for global surveillance initiatives, including NARMS (National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System). We offer a full range of standard and custom Sensititre plates featuring 18- to 24-hour incubation, true MIC endpoints, and on-scale QC ranges, making susceptibility testing a viable procedure for virtually any size laboratory. For custom dried or reference-method plates, laboratories can specify format and antimicrobic concentrations, selecting from more than 240 agents, including 80+ cleared compounds, to create a plate best-suited for the lab's particular need. Small minimum order quantities allow for better cost and inventory control.

Better Dx = Better Rx – About Magellan (www.magellanbio.com)

Founded in 2004, Magellan's innovative technologies make diagnostic testing easier, more cost-effective, and less labor intensive. The company's products deliver the timely information that clinicians need to make appropriate treatment decisions and improve outcomes for patients. They include rapid point-of-care systems to screen children and adults for lead poisoning; microbiology products for blood culture and susceptibility testing that help in the global effort to prevent MRSA and other drug-resistant infections; as well as automated ELISA processing systems for a wide variety of immunoassays – from infectious disease to autoimmune and food-safety testing. Magellan has approximately 290 employees worldwide. Brands include LeadCare, TREK Diagnostic Systems and Dynex Technologies.

SOURCE Magellan Biosciences, Inc.