Immunexpress to revolutionise sepsis diagnosis

MedTech News: Immunexpress, a Brisbane based molecular diagnostic company focused on improving outcomes for suspected sepsis patients, announced the receipt of a Growth Grant to support the commercialisation of SeptiCyte RAPID in Australia.

The Growth Grant was secured through the Entrepreneurs’ Programme, a $400 million government initiative to help small businesses become more competitive and to accelerate their growth.

The funds have been used to install the Biocartis Idylla platform at the University of Queensland, and to train technicians on SeptiCyte RAPID.

“The receipt of this grant and our inclusion in the Entrepreneurs’ Programme reinforces Immunexpress’ commitment to the Australian community,” stated Rolland D. Carlson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Immunexpress. 

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“The support provided by the Programme will enable us to accelerate the commercialisation of SeptiCyte RAPID in Australia. We plan to register SeptiCyte RAPID with the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) later this year, enabling us to provide Australian healthcare providers with SeptiCyte RAPID.

“SeptiCyte RAPID, a host response test to promptly rule in or rule out sepsis, has the potential to make an important impact on the healthcare community through improving patient outcomes by allowing for earlier diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial treatment within a clinically relevant time,” he stated.

SeptiCyte RAPID addresses an important unmet medical need within the healthcare system in Australia by revolutionising sepsis diagnosis and providing actionable results to clinicians in an hour. SeptiCyte RAPID can determine the likelihood of sepsis and differentiate from non-infectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in critically ill patients. 

Patrick Harris, Ph.D., Acting Statewide Director of Microbiology at Pathology Queensland, stated, “we are looking forward to exploring new avenues in rapid diagnostics by measuring genetic signatures in the host response to sepsis. Combined with rapid pathogen detection, SeptiCyte RAPID could prove to be a very powerful tool.”

Sepsis is a life-threatening generalised inflammation caused by the immune system’s response to an infection. 

About SeptiCyte RAPID

SeptiCyte RAPID is a gene expression assay discovered and patented from Australia, which uses reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to quantify the relative expression levels of host response genes isolated from whole blood collected in the PAXgene Blood RNA Tube. SeptiCyte RAPID is used in conjunction with clinical assessments, vital signs and laboratory findings as an aid to differentiate infection-positive (sepsis) from infection-negative systemic inflammation in patients suspected of sepsis. SeptiCyte RAPID generates a score (SeptiScore) that falls within one of three discrete Interpretation Bands based on the increasing likelihood of infection-positive systemic inflammation. SeptiCyte RAPID is intended for in-vitro diagnostic use and is used on the Biocartis Idylla System.

In March 2020, Immunexpress received CE Marking of SeptiCyte RAPID and announced a long-term commercialization partnership with Biocartis in Europe.