Molecular Diagnostic Assay Will Be Developed to Detect Aspergillus

A molecular diagnostic assay will be developed to detect the life-threatening Aspergillus fungus in human blood.

BD Diagnostics (Baltimore, MD, USA) a segment of global medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD; Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and Lab21(Cambridge, United Kingdom) a global leader in personalized healthcare, will collaborate to develop the Aspergillus assay using the new fully automated BD MAX molecular testing system.


Infection caused by Aspergillus is a leading cause of death in immunocompromised patients, with an estimated 10 million people at risk globally each year. Diagnosis of Aspergillus infection followed by antifungal treatment within the first 10 days of infection reduces mortality from 90% to 40%–highlighting the need for rapid, accurate testing. Real-time polymerase chain reaction may offer significant advantages in sensitivity and specificity over the current culture techniques

"The potential to detect Aspergillus in blood using real-time polymerase chain reaction is a topic of great interest to clinicians since it offers faster, more sensitive, and more accurate diagnostic and screening strategies for the early and definitive detection of aspergillosis,” said Graham Mullis, CEO of Lab21.

BD plans to bring new assays to the BD MAX System in a broad range of disease categories. There are now more than 14 assays in the BD MAX system’s menu pipeline. Combined with open capability, full automation, and standardized workflow, BD MAX system will enable laboratories to consolidate and standardize their molecular tests to build programs that meet both their current and future clinical needs.

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