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T2 Biosystems collaborates with CDC, Cidara to combat Candida infections
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In collaboration with T2 Biosystems, the CDC will begin using the T2Dx Instrument to test and monitor Candida auris infections in hospitals across the United States, and Cidara Therapeutics will offer an exclusive pricing program for commercial placement of the instruments, according to a press release.
Last year, the CDC issued a clinical alert to health care facilities in the U.S. about C. auris, an emerging and often drug-resistant fungal pathogen responsible for numerous hospital outbreaks around the globe. Researchers believe that C. auris emerged on several continents around the same time in 2008 or 2009.
The current methods for detecting C. auris, such as blood culture, may lack the accuracy and speed needed to counter the recent surge in these infections in the U.S. The partnership between T2 Biosystems and the CDC will allow the agency to use the T2Dx Instrument for the detection of C. auris as a new feature of the T2MR platform, which tests patients’ skin and blood samples, and to monitor the spread of the superbug through environmental surveillance, according to the release.
A recent experiment showed that multiple strains of C. auris can survive for up to 7 days on moist and dry surfaces.
With the use of the T2Dx Instrument, the CDC and T2 Biosystems hope to accurately identify C. auris from patient skin and hospital environmental samples, and confirm a process for monitoring the infection in health care facilities, according to the release. They also aim to work together with state and local public health laboratories to fight outbreaks.
T2 Biosystems also announced an exclusive pricing program for the commercial placement of T2Dx Instruments. The preferred pricing structure will allow Cidara’s clinical trial sites to accelerate enrollment of its novel echinocandin antifungal CD101 through the completion of its phase 3 trial, according to a press release. They will also work to boost the amount of hospitals that use T2 Biosystems’ products, like the T2Candida Panel and the T2Bacteria Panel, once cleared by FDA. The trial sites will also have access to T2 Biosystems’ sepsis panels, following their commercial release.
“We are excited about the application of the T2 technology for superbug detection and the potential to have a big impact on public health by reducing the spread of these deadly diseases,” John McDonough, CEO of T2 Biosystems, told Infectious Disease News. “Our collaboration with the CDC is the first major step in this direction while our partnership with Cidara may enable a more rapid approval of the drugs needed to save the lives of infected patients.” – by Savannah Demko
Disclosure: McDonough is the CEO of T2 Biosystems.