( ith a 510(k) premarket notification pro...)Anthrax test, developed by army and CDC, receives FDA approval

USAMRIID, with support from CDC, prepared and submitted a 510(k) Premarket Notification using both USAMRIID and CDC data on use of the gamma phage method. With FDA recognition of the assay as substantially equivalent to the classical assay used prior to 1976, it will be available for use for testing in designated civilian and military clinical laboratories.

"This is a big first step in helping to provide the LRN labs with FDA cleared assays," said Judy Sheldon, a regulatory affairs microbiologist with the CDC's Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program. "The work done at USAMRIID and here at CDC provided a solid scientific basis for FDA to evaluate the assay performance. This work has set a high bar for other tests to meet."

USAMRIID scientists standardized and validated the test to make it more rugged, more reproducible across laboratories, and more resistant to user error. They developed a clearly defined method for production of gamma phage that proved to be highly stable, as reflected in the extended shelf life of the B. anthracis-specific virus. USAMRIID then provided sufficient gamma phage material to CDC for distribution within the LRN, so that each laboratory will have the same material to be used in the test. In addition, USAMRIID developed Standard Operating Procedures for the assay to ensure that each laboratory in the LRN will run the test the same way. This also increases confidence in the final result.

"This represents a very significant milestone for both of our organizations, in that all of the medical diagnostic products that we are developing must eventually follow a similar pathway for approval to allow clinical diagnosticians to use these tests to positively identify pathogens," said Colonel George W. Korch, Jr., commander of USAMRIID. "Successes such as these demonstrate that we can translate our res
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Source:US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases