Alverix Technology Key to Landmark Flu Test from BD
Posted by | January 9, 2012
In the rush of the holidays, you may have missed some recent news from Safeguard Scientifics’ life sciences partner company Alverix.
On December 20, 2011, Alverix announced that its partner Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) has received 510(k) clearance and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver from the FDA for the BD VeritorTM System, which tests for influenza A and B – the two main types of flu virus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weGRXfDIpX4
Veritor is the first rapid flu detection system that produces a digital readout of results, which allows it to diagnose the flu in just over 10 minutes. In comparison, many highly accurate lab tests take days to yield results, and older rapid flu tests are difficult to interpret and less accurate than Veritor. Alverix manufactures and supplies the BD Veritor System reader, which allows the device to deliver its digital results.
This new system brings testing efficiency and reliability to the physician’s office, eliminating the need for patients to go to a lab to be tested and improving the quality of patient care. The timing couldn’t be better, as flu season in America is just getting started. Each year, about 5 to 20 percent of Americans will get the flu and over 200,000 are hospitalized from flu complications. By detecting the flu earlier and more reliably, doctors can anticipate such complications—like pneumonia—and in some cases, prescribe antiviral medicine.
The announcement substantiates much of Alverix’s positioning and captured headlines throughout the healthcare industry, from Medscape to Businessweek. Here’s what has people talking:
- Alverix technology, a key component of Veritor, offers users strong performance and easy-to-read results, allowing patients to get on the road to recovery more quickly.
- Objective tests results are provided through the digital display, which eliminates the need for the subjective visual test interpretation required by other CLIA-waived rapid flu tests and reduces costs for patients and the healthcare system.
- Veritor has earned high marks for accuracy when measured against the highest sensitivity standard available—polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results.
This system embodies Alverix’s goal to move testing into physicians’ offices and closer to the point of patient care, streamlining healthcare by delivering better efficacy, lower costs, and faster treatment.
