illumi gene ® Malaria Receives 1 st Place Award at the Journées Internationales de Biologie /Association des Colloques Nationaux des Biologistes Conference in Paris
CINCINNATI, Aug. 30, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVO ) was awarded 1 st place for innovation in emergency treatment and point-of-care testing for its illumi gene ® Malaria test at the 2016 JIB/ACNBH Conference this summer. Innovations from worldwide companies contributing to the development of the Medical Biology industry were put under the spotlight at this year’s conference held in Paris, France, and were reviewed by worldwide expert members in the medical biology field.
The illumi gene Malaria test is a major step forward in providing faster, more accurate diagnoses that can lead to prompt treatment and better patient outcomes, as malaria remains one of the top 3 killers of children globally, claiming one life every minute of every day. The test is up to 400 times more sensitive at detecting the malaria parasite than conventional tests, potentially revolutionizing malaria diagnosis and establishing a new gold standard for both the developed and developing world. By using molecular LAMP technology, illumi gene Malaria provides results in less than one hour, and does not require refrigeration or heating of materials, nor a high level of technical expertise.
Professor Daouda Ndiaye, chief of the laboratory of parasitology and mycology at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal, who presented the test at the event, commented; “This is not merely a scientific breakthrough. Faster and more accurate diagnosis is vital in the fight against malaria. Because of submicroscopic parasitemia carriage among the populations, a robust, sensitive and field community-deployable screening tool is needed to track the malaria reservoir in pre-elimination regions. The clinical trial I ran in Senegal for the validation of the test shows that illumi gene Malaria has this capacity.”
Meridian's product development strategy is driven by three core concepts—speed, simplicity, and accuracy - that empowers healthcare providers around the world to improve patient care. Slava Elagin, Executive Vice President Research & Development for Meridian Bioscience, said, “ We are delighted that illumi gene Malaria has been recognized as a breakthrough in emergency treatment and point-of-care testing and we look forward to more illumi gene tests making a positive impact worldwide. We are evaluating a wide range of product ideas to assess which ones have the greatest potential to become the next breakthrough in diagnosis.”
The illumi gene Malaria test received the CE Mark in January of this year, and is available in the European, Middle Eastern and African regions by Meridian Bioscience Europe and in additional international markets by the Company’s global distribution network. To read more about the JIB/ACNBH Medical Biology award, please visit http://www.jib-sdbio.fr/ .
Meridian is a fully integrated life science company that develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad range of innovative diagnostic test kits, purified reagents and related products and offers biopharmaceutical enabling technologies. Utilizing a variety of methods, these products and diagnostic tests provide accuracy, simplicity and speed in the early diagnosis and treatment of common medical conditions, such as gastrointestinal, viral and respiratory infections and blood lead levels. Meridian’s diagnostic products are used outside of the human body and require little or no special equipment. The Company's products are designed to enhance patient well-being while reducing the total outcome costs of health care. Meridian has strong market positions in the areas of gastrointestinal and upper respiratory infections; serology, parasitology and fungal disease diagnosis, and blood lead level testing. In addition, Meridian is a supplier of rare reagents, specialty biologicals and related technologies used by biopharmaceutical companies engaged in research for new drugs and vaccines. The Company markets its products and technologies to hospitals, reference laboratories, research centers, diagnostics manufacturers and biotech companies in more than 70 countries around the world. The Company’s shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, symbol VIVO. Meridian's website address is www.meridianbioscience.com .
For Additional information: For more information about Meridian Bioscience Europe, please visit http://www.meridianbioscience.eu/ .
CONTACT: Richard L. Eberly President, Chief Commercial Officer Meridian Bioscience, Inc. Phone: 513.271.3700 Rick.eberly@meridianbioscience.com
