Great Basin Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:GBSN), has a new launch up its sleeves; the only stand-alone Shiga Toxin Direct Test. The molecular diagnostics company says that the test plays two key roles the main one being providing the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) with recommended identification of the high-virulence serotype O157. Another role is the detecting of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia Coli or STEC.
According to Ryan Ashton, co-founder and chief executive officer of GBSN, the existing STEC detection methods have various obstacles. They are either expensive, inaccurate or are time-consuming hence the need for their enhancement. Ashton outlines that the Shiga Toxin Direct Test does not have any related financial barriers because it is competitively priced. Apart from having a high economic value and medical superiority, it also has more answers than any other stand-alone tests.
What there is to know about STEC
It is the primary cause of infections the likes of acute gastroenteritis and a hemolytic-uremic syndrome which CDC says must be dealt with the earliest. It is a test that will give clinicians definitive patient diagnosis with ease. It will somewhat simplify workflow for laboratory technicians with test result being obtained with less than a one minute.
The test which has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received a positive response from the market. Ashton says the company is excited about the reaction of both the existing customers as well as the potential ones including larger reference laboratories. It is an encouraging scenario that will motivate the company to seek more penetration into the market a move that has been applauded by Dr. Blake W. Buchan, Assistant Professor of Pathology.
Learn about Great Basin Scientific
Like many other companies, GBSN has a vision; that of developing simple but powerful sample-to-result technologies. The technologies are designated to achieve fast, multiple-pathogen diagnoses of infectious diseases. All these must be obtained in a cost-effective manner without compromising with the patient’s expectations.
The beauty in all this is that the high sensitivity of molecular tests and the use of STEC in more specimens mean patients will be able to get a more definite diagnosis.
