First Light Diagnostics Joins Global Initiative to Combat Antibiotic Resistance

CHELMSFORD, Mass., October 30, 2019 (Newswire.com) -  First Light Diagnostics, a developer of breakthrough automated products for rapid, sensitive and cost-effective diagnosis of life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced their participation in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Challenge. First Light’s MultiPath™ platform will help eliminate the unnecessary use and overuse of antibiotics that contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens by providing the care team with information to inform diagnosis at the onset of infection.

Launched at the UN General Assembly in 2018, the AMR challenge is “a way for governments, private companies, and non-governmental organizations worldwide to make formal commitments that further the progress against antimicrobial resistance.”  More than 300 organizations have made commitments to accelerate the fight against microbial resistance.

First Light Diagnostics has committed to “delivering a platform that will enable clinicians to treat patients with targeted antibiotics at the onset of multi-drug resistant infections. First Light Diagnostics will manage the testing and reporting processes using a user-friendly interface or have the option to integrate with a hospital laboratory information system to provide clinicians with diagnostic testing results.”

“We are proud to be a participant in support of this global effort against antimicrobial resistance,” said David Macdonald, President and CEO of First Light Diagnostics. “Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide threat. Our MultiPath platform’s unique ability to rapidly detect infections and provide antibiotic susceptibility (AST) information, without the need for a time-consuming culture step, will allow clinicians to determine the most effective therapy at the onset of infection, dramatically reducing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that contribute to antibiotic resistance.”

Using primary patient samples directly without a culture step, First Light’s MultiPath technology delivers breakthrough acceleration in AST results, enabling clinicians to get the patient on the optimal targeted, narrow-spectrum therapy at the onset of their infection. With pathogen identification in 30 minutes and AST results in just four hours, the MultiPath easy-to-use, automated benchtop analyzer provides rapid results, high throughput and continuous random access. Using the MultiPath platform, clinicians will be able to administer the most effective targeted therapy during the onset of multi-drug resistant infections versus waiting several days for results.

First Light Diagnostics has begun deployment of MultiPath systems at customer clinical study sites and is targeting FDA clearance in 2020.

About First Light Diagnostics, Inc.

First Light Diagnostics is developing and preparing to commercialize, innovative diagnostic products for rapid, sensitive and cost-saving detection of life-threatening infections, and for combating the spread of antibiotic resistance. Don Straus is the company’s Founder and primary inventor of the company’s core scientific technology. Based on its proprietary MultiPath detection technology, First Light’s products combine the clinical performance of the most advanced commercial laboratory tests with speed, cost-effectiveness, and ease-of-use. The tests rapidly detect infections, identify infectious agents, and determine effective targeted antibiotic therapy. This will improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and prevent inappropriate use of powerful antibiotics. To learn more, please visit: www.firstlightdx.com.

David Macdonald
President and CEO
First Light Diagnostics​
dmacdonald@firstlightdx.com
Mobile: (858) 997-9641

Source: First Light Diagnostics, Inc.