Original from: 360DX

BioMérieux and JMI Laboratories announced that they have entered a six-year project to evaluate the performance of tests for antimicrobial resistance.

BioMérieux will be able to continually assess the results of its Vitek antimicrobial susceptibility tests (AST) and validate the tests against global antimicrobial susceptibility data collected by JMI's Sentry Antimicrobial Surveillance Program. The program collects approximately 40,000 clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi every year, using a network of more than 150 medical centers from more than 35 countries across the world, the companies said in a statement. The program was established in 1997 to monitor worldwide pathogens and changes in resistance patterns through centralized testing and reference susceptibility methods, they added.

Financial and other terms of the partnership have not been disclosed. JMI Laboratories is a subsidiary of testing, inspection, and certification company Element Group. 

BioMérieux's Vitek 2 platform provides AST results that detect resistance patterns and drive appropriate antibiotic therapy, and the Vitek 2 Advanced Expert System provides automated review and validation of the results, the company said.

The firms have "partnered to establish and address contemporary issues of antimicrobial resistance and ensure accurate AST results to guide effective treatment and optimize patient care," BioMérieux Chief Medical Officer Mark Miller said in a statement. 

"Through our combined efforts, we can proactively alert the scientific community of potential growing threats and effectively steer antimicrobial research and development," François Lacoste, BioMérieux's executive VP of R&D, said in a statement.

Source: BioMérieux, JMI Labs Partner to Evaluate Performance of Antimicrobial Resistance Assays