France-based bioMérieux SA is to acquire Specific Diagnostics Inc of the US in order to strengthen its position in the detection of infections from antibiotic resistant pathogens. Specific Diagnostics, a privately held company, has developed an antimicrobial susceptibility test that can detect Gram negative bacteria directly from blood cultures in an average of five hours. This is said to help clinicians identify bloodstream infections and decide what type of treatment to deploy for patients, in particular, whether to use a therapy for multidrug resistant infections.
