Improving Transfusion Safety: Fenwal, Verax Biomedical Sign Agreement for Rapid, Point-of-Care Bac...(to humans in high concentrations. ...)

"Bacterial contamination in platelets is a serious concern in transfusion medicine," said Darrell J. Triulzi, M.D., medical director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Division of Transfusion Medicine, which is using the Verax PGD(R) test. "The blood center community has made progress with the implementation of culture-based tests, but these occur at the point of collection when bacteria levels can be too low for detection. A rapid, point-of-care assay, such as the Verax PGD(R) test, takes place just prior to transfusion, which is the best time to detect bacteria levels in platelets and provides a more comprehensive strategy for patient safety."

"Transfusion safety is central to the mission of Fenwal and our customers," said Ron K. Labrum, Fenwal president and chief executive officer. "This agreement is another example of how Fenwal is bringing advanced technology, ideas and performance to our vital industry."

"Fenwal is a pioneer in the development of products that improve blood safety worldwide," said Jim Lousararian, Verax president and chief executive officer. "We are confident that with Fenwal's support we can increase adoption of the Verax PGD(R) test and improve health-care outcomes by reducing transfusion-related issues associated with bacterial contamination."

About Verax Biomedical

Verax Biomedical Inc. is a leading developer of rapid tests for detecting bacterial contaminants in blood cells and tissue. The privately held company was founded in 1999. Its headquarters and laboratory facilities are in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Verax PGD(R) test is currently cleared by the FDA as a rapid, qualitative immunoassay for the detection of bacteria in leukocyte-reduced apheresis platelets as an adjunct quality-control test following previous bacterial testing. For m
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