Bacteromic, a subsidiary of Scope Fluidics – a biotechnological company listed on the NewConnect stock exchange, concluded the first tests of functionality of a prototype of the BacterOMIC system. The tests were conducted by the National Medicines Institute (NIL) and allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the entire system, and also proved its ability to correctly determine the drug-resistance of bacteria.
According to the NIL’s report, the BacterOMIC system managed to conduct all scheduled tests according to the procedure. All mechanical & flow procedures as well as system’s automation operate as expected. The system correctly classified bacteria and identified drug-resistance levels for most of the tested bacteria and antibiotics included in the panel. Even though the examination is comprehensive, the time of preparation of a bacteria suspension for drug-resistance testing, as well as the analysis time are comparable to other systems available on the market. Additional advantages of the BacterOMIC system include double detection of bacteria growth and a small size of the cartridge containing a large antibiotics panel with a wide range of concentrations.
– We’ve successfully concluded the first phase of tests of the BacterOMIC system prototype conducted in cooperation with the National Medicines Institute. We are satisfied with the obtained results. The principal aim of the tests was to obtain an opinion from an independent and renowned partner, such as NIL. The system currently undergoes further modifications, many of them are introduced according to NIL’s suggestions. For now, everything goes according to the schedule and currently our greatest challenge is to expand the panel of tested antibiotics – this is what we are working on now, says Prof. Piotr Garstecki, co-owner, key shareholder and CEO of Scope Fluidics S.A.
Tests of the BacterOMIC system prototype were conducted from August 2018 in an external NIL laboratory with the use of clinical strains of bacteria. The main aim of the first tests was to determine which components of the system require further optimization in the prototype evaluation phase. Consecutive tests with the use of clinical materials are scheduled for the upcoming months.
The BacterOMIC system is the second project, after PCR|ONE, developed by Scope Fluidics. BacterOMIC addresses one of the world’s greatest health threats – the drug-resistance of bacteria. The system will allow for simultaneous testing of all antibiotics recommended by CLSI and EUCAST. Reliable results are system’s great advantage – BacterOMIC tests always render a full antibiogram. Scope Fluidics’s subsidiary filed an application with the European Patent Office (EPO) for protection of the technology used in the BacterOMIC system and plans to expand the protection to further regions of the world.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria belong to the most serious challenges in global health care. According to the estimates of WHO, within the 35 next years, drug-resistant bacteria may cause 300 million of deaths. In the face of the rapidly increasing number of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the most important method of protecting patients’ health and life is to create diagnostic systems which offer comprehensive identification of pathogenic bacteria’s sensitivity to all available antibiotics. Only full information will open way to targeted treatment, which is the only weapon against drug-resistant bacteria. In some situations, it is crucial to obtain a full profile of antibiotic sensitivity as soon as possible. Thanks to early detection of microbes’ growth, the method developed by Scope Fluidics has a potential to significantly reduce the identification time.