In the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance, bioMérieux and Specific Diagnostics announce a co-exclusive distribution agreement for the SPECIFIC REVEAL® Rapid AST system in Europe

Marcy l’Étoile, France and Mountain View, California – bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, and Specific Diagnostics, a company bringing unique in vitro diagnostic systems to clinical microbiology, announce that bioMérieux will distribute Specific Diagnostics’ newly introduced REVEAL Rapid AST system in Europe.

In the context of the global threat from Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), clinicians need to receive faster antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) results and accurate interpretation, to enable timely and optimized patient intervention. In bloodstream infections, an urgent and often life-threatening condition, time is of the essence to deliver targeted antibiotic treatment: it is crucial to determine what antibiotic to prescribe, at which dose, for what duration. Making clinical decisions based on rapid AST not only dramatically improves patient outcomes, but also serves the broader purpose of fighting Antimicrobial Resistance, to help sustain the efficacy of antibiotics for generations to come.

A perfect complement to bioMérieux’s suite of systems delivering rapid results

Developed by Specific Diagnostics, and based on its unique, patented metabolomic signature technology, the REVEAL Rapid AST system provides actionable results for bloodstream infections (in an average of 5 hours* directly from positive blood culture), allowing either timely de-escalation to a focused, more appropriate and lower-cost therapy, or life-saving rapid escalation to a more effective drug where a multidrug-resistant (MDR) infection is present. 

REVEAL Rapid AST offers customers an easy to use instrument with a targeted menu, small footprint, and modular design well-suited for a large number of hospitals.

REVEAL Rapid AST system is a perfect complement to bioMérieux’s unique suite of systems delivering rapid results including the industry’s fastest blood culture system, the BACT/ALERT® VIRTUO®, and rapid identification with either VITEK® MS PRIME or BIOFIRE® BCID2, and VITEK® 2. Adding REVEAL Rapid AST enables hospitals to have the fastest possible path to fully actionable results, combining ID (microbial identification) and AST, to allow clinicians to diagnose and treat patients much faster, establishing a new standard of care.

Mark Miller, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, bioMérieux explained: “Partnering with a fast AST solution makes great sense for bioMérieux, whose mission over decades is to provide diagnostic solutions that support the best possible patient care. By combining the advanced technology of the REVEAL Rapid AST solution for bloodstream infections with our own solutions, we are increasing the ability of laboratories to deliver results in record time, especially in cases of very critical infections such as sepsis, which require urgent and appropriate treatment.” 

A distribution agreement within a stronger partnership

The co-exclusive distribution agreement signed between both companies will cover Europe, where the REVEAL Rapid AST has been CE-IVD approved. In addition, bioMérieux will invest 10M$ thru a Convertible Promissory Note to support commercial activities. In 2019, bioMérieux participated in Specific Diagnostics’ Series A funding round, alongside other investors. As a result of this transaction, bioMérieux holds around 8% of the share capital of Specific Diagnostics.

“We are honored to partner with a world leader as bioMérieux to bring the REVEAL Rapid AST system to microbiology labs across Europe,” said Paul A. Rhodes, Ph.D., CEO of Specific Diagnostics. “Every lab we encounter wants rapid, easy-to-use susceptibility testing at the right price; we couldn’t reach them all without partnering with an organization with the scale and quality of bioMérieux.”

Pierre Boulud, Chief Operating Officer, Clinical Operations, bioMérieux declared: "With the addition of Specific Diagnostics’ REVEAL Rapid AST system into its microbiology offer, bioMérieux demonstrates its commitment to provide fast AST to clinicians and laboratories, with the double objective of dramatically improving patient outcomes and serving antimicrobial stewardship, leveraging our extensive distribution network.”

* Tibbetts et al, ECCMID 2020 and in review.