Prof. Citri's new technology kit has all the material necessary to test for the presence of superbugs in a urine or blood sample, and amazingly provides crucial guidelines on how to treat the infection almost immediately, when currently, patients can wait as long as five days to get an evidence-based treatment, time during which the infection could spread like wildfire.
BioConnections, a UK-based company has already applied for the CE Mark, the European regulatory version of the FDA's stamp of approval, to market Citri's SuperBug Detection Kit. The kits could possibly be ready in a few months, and then it's only a matter of time before they become available in the US.
The kits are designed to produce a chemical reaction in the presence of beta-lactamases, an enzyme found in all multi-drug resistant bacteria, providing information on the type of antibiotic that might be useful against the infection, whether it's in the lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, intestines or abdomen. This technology will also be able to identify extremely drug-resistant infections so that affected patients may be properly isolated and treatments determined within minutes.
Ken Denton, the CEO of BioConnections said, "We are convinced that Prof. Citri's invention will improve patient care, saving lives, shortening hospital stays and significantly reducing healthcare costs. The first kits are in the last stages of development, and we hope it will reach the market within months."
Source: www.yissum.co.il/media-center/news/23220
Shared with: the healthy home economist
