Meridian Bioscience has received medical device license approval from Health Canada to market two additional assays for use on their illumigene molecular diagnostic platform.

With the addition of illumigene Mycoplasma and illumigene Pertussis, Meridian continues to expand its position in the Canadian market by providing innovative testing solutions that meet the needs of the clinical laboratory and drive improvements in patient care.

Somagen Diagnostics president Elena LoCastro said that the company, together with Meridian Bioscience, is excited to announce the launch of the illumigene Mycoplasma and Pertussis diagnostic tests in Canada.

"These newly released products are uniquely efficient in the detection of the respiratory diseases associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Bordetella pertussis. Canadian healthcare professionals will benefit from the accurate, reliable results with the rapid turn-around time that is generated from illumigene technology.

"The illumigene Mycoplasma and Pertussis tests are made for use on the illumipro-10™ Incubator/Reader and are the first stand-alone Mycoplasma and Pertussis molecular assays licensed by Health Canada.

"The addition of the illumigene Mycoplasma and Pertussis products to the illumipro-10 test menu offers current illumipro-10 system users within our laboratories the opportunity to further enhance their workflow and efficiencies.

"In addition, the launch of these new products combined with the existing illumigene test menu, offers an attractive solution for further growth and expansion of our installed system base in Canadian medical laboratories," LoCastro added.