BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Lonza Group Ltd announced that they have entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement for Lonza to commercialize its microCompass™ molecular assays on the BD MAX™ System. Lonza has the exclusive worldwide license to co-market the BD MAX™ System with the complete microCompass™ product line in selected fields. The microCompass™ assays on the BD Max™ system will provide an automated platform with same day results for quality control testing in the Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products market segments. BD and Lonza are also developing and optimizing automated rapid microbial testing solutions that are easy to use with true 'load and walk away' functionality.
The BD MAX™ System is based on microfluidics and molecular biology technologies, which fully automate nucleic acid extraction/recovery, polymerase chain reaction setup, amplification and detection. The microCompass™ assays will facilitate rapid detection for total bioburden load, sterility testing, Mycoplasma, and a variety of specific organisms. The microCompass™ reagents are designed to be flexible for ongoing assay development and menu expansion to meet global and manufacturing sites' unique needs. Combined, this novel system provides quality control personnel with a rapid and accurate testing solution. This contributes to improved control, quality and efficiency in the manufacturing and overall product release process within the Pharmaceutical and Personal Care markets.