BIOASTER, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Hospices Civils de Lyon and bioMérieux formalize strategic collaboration to conduct Next Generation Sequencing technology evaluation in microbiology

“In the last decade, Next Generation Sequencing technologies have transformed the field of diagnostics in microbiology. BIOASTER is proud to partner with renowned academic and industrial actors to speed up transformation of this promising technology towards diagnostic tools useful for clinicians,” said Nathalie GARCON, CEO/CSO of IRT BIOASTER.

The primary objective of this collaboration is to assess the ability of a third generation sequencing technology to become a new diagnostic device to detect bacteremia, enabling a rapid bacterial identification and genetic resistance prediction. Conducted in collaboration with UTC, a world-class academic actor in microfluidic systems, on blood samples and data provided by the HCL, the project will also enable the development and validation of an innovative micro-device to sort, purify and enrich bacteria from human blood cultures upstream of sequencing analysis.

Bloodstream infections, in particular sepsis, represent one of the main causes of death, with a mortality rate of up to 30% to 50% in intensive care units worldwide. To provide appropriate treatment for septic patients, the main challenge is not only the timely diagnosis of sepsis, but also the rapid identification of the sepsis-causing agent(s). This will allow for early-targeted antimicrobial therapy that significantly increases survival rate, prevents subsequent complications, and reduces drug-related side effects as well as medical expenses. Third generation sequencing technologies have evolved rapidly in recent years. They are a suitable tool for diagnosing infectious pathogens, in particular in terms of throughput, accuracy and speed with the potential to significantly expand the range of diagnostic assays that will soon be available to clinicians.

“Improving the diagnosis of septic patients is at the heart of bioMérieux strategy. The BacTSeq project will allow us to further explore the potential of sequencing to cover this major unmet medical need” 

said François LACOSTE, Executive Vice President, R&D, bioMérieux.

Marie-Christine HO-BA-THO, Research Director of UTC added: "We are very pleased with the long-standing collaboration with BIOASTER which has been involved in different research projects and teaching activities for years. The new partnership with bioMérieux will deepen this relationship and orient it towards concrete industrial challenges, with the goal of developing innovative solutions to improve patient health."