New evidence supports Deeplex® Myc-TB as the reference method for enhanced drug-resistant TB detection
Antibiotic resistance: WHO issues warning
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new alarming report on the global rise of antibiotic resistance. According to its estimates, one-sixth of common bacterial infections worldwide were resistant to treatments in 2023, and the trend continues to worsen.
Infectious diseases are a major global health concern accounting for a significant proportion of deaths worldwide. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance makes these diseases an increasingly critical threat to human health.
Between 2018 and 2023, resistance increased in more than 40% of the pathogen-antibiotic combinations monitored by the GLASS system (Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System).
The report also indicates that several common pathogenic bacteria now show concerning levels of resistance to 22 essential antibiotics used to treat urinary, digestive, bloodstream infections, and gonorrhoea.
In particular, drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae represent a major danger: their growing resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and even carbapenems drastically reduces available treatment options and complicates the management of severe infections worldwide.
Other drug-resistant bacteria, causing, for instance, respiratory infections such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, represent further critical threats and are also among the high-priority pathogens identified by WHO.
Facing the Global Emergency, GenoScreen leverages genomics for diagnostics
For over 20 years, GenoScreen has been committed to combating infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance through innovative genomic diagnostic and sequencing solutions.
The Deeplex® diagnostic solutions uniquely leverage the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for accurate identification of specific pathogens and extensive prediction of their antimicrobial resistance.
Our Deeplex® kit range offers several innovative solutions, each specially designed to target specific bacterial infectious diseases. These include Deeplex® Myc-TB for tuberculosis, Deeplex® Myc-Lep for leprosy, and Deeplex® HelP for Helicobacter pylori.
Deeplex® Myc-TB: The all-in-one solution for extensive detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance
Deeplex® Myc-TB, developed for tuberculosis, represents the first-of-its kind NGS-based drug resistance testing solution. This integrated culture-free diagnostic kit provides molecular results on resistance or susceptibility to 15 anti-tuberculosis drugs in a single assay, in less than 48 hours. The assay is based on targeted deep sequencing and automated data analysis and interpretation via the secure Deeplex® Myc-TB web application.
As part of its unique features, our product can detect heteroresistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs down to 3%, and also identifies Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (sub)lineages and spoligotypes, as well as more than 100 species of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM).
By providing rapid and extensive prediction of genetic resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs, this innovative test represents a powerful tool for guiding effective therapeutic treatment of patients suffering from tuberculosis.
This novel NGS-based drug resistance diagnostic for tuberculosis has been evaluated and endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its accuracy and efficiency. Deeplex® Myc-TB is highlighted by the WHO as the only targeted NGS (tNGS) assay meeting performance criteria for all 10 drugs evaluated, making it the most effective solution for DR-TB diagnostics. As such, it is the sole tNGS test recommended by this organization for detection of resistance to these drugs in both drug-susceptible and multidrug resistant/rifampicin resistant.
The latest WHO guidance underscores the critical role of such advanced diagnostics in quickly identifying drug resistance patterns, thereby helping clinicians promptly make informed decisions and ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Heteroresistance detection range by Deeplex® Myc-TB supported by an Oxford team study
A recent study conducted by an Oxford team (formerly leading CRyPTIC), involving more than 35,000 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates, highlights the importance of minority variants in the rpoB gene for detecting rifampicin resistance. The authors demonstrate that lowering variant detection threshold to 5% significantly increases the sensitivity for prediction of phenotypic resistance, without significant loss of specificity. Although the association with clinical resistance could not be investigated, these findings underscore the phenotypic and interpretative relevance of minority variants.
Deeplex® Myc-TB stands out as a reference for ultra-sensitive detection of such minority variants. Its detection threshold of 3%, unmatched by other tests, matches the range reported by the Oxford team, enabling thus diagnostically relevant capture of emerging rifampicin resistance. As such, Deeplex® Myc-TB represents the most advanced solution for diagnosis and proactive therapeutic management of drug resistance.
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