Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance to its Simplexa C. difficile Universal Direct Test on the 3M™ Integrated Cycler.
The test, from the company's Focus Diagnostics business, is intended to aid in the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-associated disease, one of the most common and dangerous acquired infections in healthcare settings. It uses a proprietary technique to eliminate the time consuming nucleic-acid sample extraction process required by many other molecular tests, for potentially faster results reporting for hospitals and clinical laboratories.
Simplexa tests, running on the 3M™ Integrated Cycler, employ real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to qualitatively detect viruses, bacteria and other analytes. The Simplexa C. difficile Universal Direct test is performed on liquid or unformed human stool samples and detects the toxin B gene (tcdB) of C. difficile, including NAP1. The test uses a proprietary chemistry that eliminates the need for nucleic-acid extraction. Using the Simplexa test, hospital and other labs may complete the entire testing process in about an hour.