BioFire Defense partners with BARDA to accelerate development of the Specific Diagnostics SPECIFIC REVEAL^TM Rapid AST System

Marcy-l’Étoile, France – bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announces that BioFire Defense, LLC, its affiliate and leader in pathogen detection systems for the U.S. Department of Defense, has received a contract from the BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), a component of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to accelerate development of the Specific Diagnostics SPECIFIC REVEAL™ Rapid AST System, a rapid, modular, antimicrobial-susceptibility test platform that can deliver phenotypic results in an average of five and a half hours¹ from positive blood cultures.

The BARDA contract supports expansion of the SPECIFIC REVEAL™ Rapid AST System test menu to include other sample types starting with Gram-negative isolates with contract options to expand the menu to include Gram-positive blood culture and Gram-positive isolates. The contract is one component of the BARDA’s Detection Diagnostics and Devices Infrastructure Division (DDDI) medical countermeasure portfolio.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under contract number 75A50122C0005.

“The SPECIFIC REVEAL™ Rapid AST System provides rapid phenotypic results in an average of 5.5 hours compared to up to 2 days for traditional AST platforms,” said Pierre Boulud, Chief Operating Officer, Clinical Operations, bioMérieux. “This innovative platform allows rapid targeted antimicrobial therapy, improving patient care while helping to improve antibiotic stewardship”.

Designed for ease of use, the platform requires little sample preparation, and substantially shortens the time from sample arrival in the laboratory to the selection of targeted antimicrobial therapy.

In April 2022, bioMérieux acquired Specific Diagnostics to strengthen its long-term commitment to two interlinked global public health challenges: sepsis management and the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

(1) Tibbetts R, George S, Burwell R, Rajeev L, Rhodes PA, Singh P, Samuel L. Performance of the Reveal Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing System on Gram-Negative Blood Cultures at a Large Urban Hospital. J Clin Microbiol. 2022 Jun 15;60(6):e0009822.