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Health Canada Approves Hologic Panther Fusion System; Flu, Respiratory Assays

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Hologic said today that Health Canada has approved its Panther Fusion system and assays for respiratory virus infections.

The Fusion module is an in-lab upgrade to Hologic's Panther instrument, which enables labs to extend the testing capabilities of their existing Panther, Hologic said. The module adds the flexibility of PCR to the proven performance of transcription-mediated amplification used by the Panther system, the firm said.

Tom West, president of the diagnostic solutions division at Hologic, said that Health Canada also approved three new assays for flu and respiratory infections, extending the range of diagnostics tests that labs can run on one Hologic system.

The Panther Fusion PCR-based respiratory assays include the Panther Fusion Flu A/B/RSV, Panther Fusion Paraflu, and Panther Fusion AdV/hMPV/RV tests. The assays offer a modular approach to syndromic testing by providing the ability to run one, two, or all three assays from a single patient specimen depending on the needs of a given patient, Hologic said. 

The Panther Fusion system retains the benefits of the Panther platform, including fully automated sample-to-result automation; the ability to run multiple tests from a single sample; random access sample processing; continuous loading; and STAT capabilities, Hologic said. Additional benefits include a higher throughput of up to 335 Panther Fusion tests in eight hours, or up to 500 Fusion and Aptima tests, the firm added.

Flexibility is improved with the addition of open access functionality to run laboratory-developed tests and protocols, a capability that enables labs to concentrate on developing assays, while the Panther Fusion system automates workflow and reduces overall hands-on time.