Meridian Bioscience Launches ImmunoCard®C. difficile GDH Assay in Europe

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. has announced the launch of a new Clostridium difficile rapid test, ImmunoCardC. difficile GDH. This assay detects the common antigen, Glutamate dehydrogenase, produced by toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile. Toxigenic strains of Clostridium difficile are frequently associated with hospital and community acquired diarrhea and can lead to life-threatening complications or death. ImmunoCardC. difficile GDH can be used by laboratories worldwide to screen patients with diarrhea for C. difficile. To differentiate those patients at risk of disease associated with toxigenic C. difficile, GDH-positive patients are often confirmed with toxin-detecting tests such as highly sensitive molecular assay, illumigene®C. difficile.

With the addition of ImmunoCardC. difficile GDH, Meridian Bioscience is uniquely positioned in the market as the only manufacturer able to provide a complete portfolio of C. difficile testing solutions that can meet the needs of our global customers. The combination of ImmunoCardC. difficile GDH and illumigeneC. difficile provides laboratories with an algorithmic option to C. difficile diagnostic testing.

Richard Eberly, Chief Commercial Officer stated, 'C. difficile is a very dangerous infection that can lead to severe consequences for the patient and for the healthcare institutions that care for them. The addition of ImmunoCardC. difficile GDH continues Meridian's legacy of leadership in the detection and identification of C. difficile. In addition, this new product in conjunction with the MeridianillumigeneC. difficile technologyempowers laboratories to identify C. difficile patients with both a rapid screening test and molecular confirmation in less than two hours.'