Qiagen, Hilden, Germany, and DiaSorin, Saluggia, Italy, have announced the US launch of an automated workflow for QuantiFeron-TB Gold Plus, the fourth-generation modern gold standard for detection of latent tuberculosis (TB), on DiaSorin’s Liaison platforms.
The test was jointly developed by Qiagen and DiaSorin. FDA approved the test to offer streamlined laboratory automation for latent TB screening, supporting lab conversion from tuberculin skin tests to modern blood-based technologies.
Thierry Bernard, Qiagen.
Embedding QuantiFeron assays in the broad menu of DiaSorin’s Liaison analyzers also gives current Liaison customers a new assay option. The workflow pairs Qiagen’s standard QuantiFeron-TB Gold Plus blood collection tubes, containing the core QuantiFeron technology, with DiaSorin’s newly launched Liaison QuantiFeron-TB Plus detection assay.
“We are pleased to announce FDA approval of the Liaison QuantiFeron-TB Gold Plus Test for use on the Liaison platform, and the broad-based initiation of our launch for this new automation option in the United States,” says Thierry Bernard, interim CEO of Qiagen. “Validation of the QuantiFeron technology with Liaison platforms further reinforces the clinical profile of QuantiFeron-TB Gold Plus. Users are gaining access to the Liaison’s powerful, highly flexible automation for all throughput segments, as well as to Liaison’s broad menu of more than 100 tests.”
Carlo Rosa, DiaSorin.
“Today we made a step further in our strategy to drive conversion to the most advanced solution available in the market for the detection of latent tuberculosis,” says Carlo Rosa, CEO of DiaSorin Group. “The Liaison QuantiFeron-TB Gold Plus Test is now available in the United States on the Liaison family platforms, and we believe this solution for laboratories will further strengthen our positioning as a specialty player.”
Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infection spread primarily through coughing by patients with the active pulmonary form of the disease. In 2016, there were 10.4 million new cases of active TB worldwide, and 1.7 million deaths from TB, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In latent tuberculosis infection, the bacterium infects a person but produces no symptoms unless it progresses to active disease, at which stage the patient is highly contagious. As part of a comprehensive programs to eradicate TB, WHO and other international organizations have expanded their guidelines for screening high-risk individuals and treating those with latent infection to help prevent further contagion and reduce the disease burden.
For more information, visit Qiagen.
