U.S – In vitro diagnostics company bioMérieux has partnered with JMI Laboratories (JMI) to undertake collaborative projects evaluating the performance and increasing potential of rapid and innovative microbiology diagnostics as important tools in the battle against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

As a market leader in antimicrobial resistance monitoring studies, JMI is known for its expertise in the development of antimicrobial therapies, cutting-edge surveillance, and post-market observations and insights.

To track global infections and evolving resistance trends, JMI launched the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program in 1997. It is currently among the oldest antimicrobial surveillance systems in existence.

JMI Laboratories is a recent member of the Element Group, a leading global Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) company, through acquisition in November 2021.

bioMérieux is recognized globally for its advancements in rapid and actionable diagnostics, such as faster pathogen identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) to support antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) efforts. This includes the VITEK 2, VITEK REVEAL, the VITEK MS platform and ETEST gradient strips.

“As global organizations committed to world-class antimicrobial stewardship as a way to combat AMR, we’ve partnered to establish and address contemporary issues of antimicrobial resistance and ensure accurate AST results to guide effective treatment and optimize patient care,” said Mark Miller, Chief Medical Officer, bioMérieux.

According to The Lancet, “there were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR in 2019, including 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial AMR.”

In order to track the frequency of antimicrobial resistance, the JMI Laboratory-led SENTRY antimicrobial surveillance initiative gathers over 40,000 clinical isolates of bacteria and fungi each year through a network of more than 150 medical facilities from 35+ different countries.

The six-year partnership between JMI and bioMérieux is in line with the company’s AMR/AMS-centered medical vision.

Dr. Elisabeth Lackner, CSO of Element noted that bringing together these two expert organizations to fight the increasing problem of bacterial AMR can help to rescue the world in this potential crisis.

“Combining the 20 years of JMI’s cutting-edge work, through microbiology and molecular testing services and the development of new antimicrobials and clinical trial support, together with bioMérieux’s 60 years in modern in vitro diagnostics development and expertise creates a worldwide powerhouse that will transform microbiology diagnostics and strengthen the development of new antimicrobials and clinical trial support to fight AMR,” she said.

While rapid, accurate testing is essential to Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs), it is also crucial to regularly compare AST results with newly emerging pathogen strains from around the world that may have evolved new resistance mechanisms or higher levels of resistance to existing treatments.

BioMérieux will be able to continuously evaluate AST/AES results and validate against changing worldwide antimicrobial susceptibility data obtained through the JMI-led SENTRY program thanks to this partnership with JMI.

“We are excited to partner with bioMérieux on these projects as we appreciate their commitment to improving patient care by providing accurate microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results.

“Our industry-leading scientists look forward to managing these studies testing challenging organisms, including those carrying important mechanisms of resistance,” said Mariana Castanheira, Chief Scientific Officer of JMI Labs.

Improved geographic resistance factor detection depends on a better understanding of the epidemiology of resistance mechanisms through active antimicrobial surveillance, says bioMérieux.

“Through our combined efforts, we can proactively alert the scientific community of potential growing threats and effectively steer antimicrobial research and development,” said François Lacoste, Executive Vice President, Research & Development, bioMérieux.

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