Myconostica said that its real-time PCR assay MycAssay Aspergillus in cystic fibrosis (CF) sputum is 260% more sensitive than the currently used culture.

PCR combined with Aspergillus IgG testing on blood was diagnostic for the recently recognized condition in CF Aspergillus bronchitis, described in 2006 in Leeds for the first time.

When MycAssay Aspergillus is combined with Myconostica’s fungal DNA extraction system, MycXtra and pretreatment with dithiothreitol and sonication, PCR improves sensitivity dramatically, the company said.

PCR takes ~3 hours compared with days for culture therefore providing a rapid, sensitive and specific alternative to the conventional techniques used to identify Aspergillus infections.

Myconostica chief business officer John Thornback said the introduction of new technologies such as Aspergillus PCR often results in reappraisal of disease, and this is certainly the case here and Aspergillus PCR is clearly a very sensitive means of detecting this allergic fungus in the airways of CF patients.

"The early identification of infected patients may open opportunities for early interventions, preventing inexorable decline in lung function in these young people. Myconostica is committed to working with the clinical community to better understand the role that PCR can play in the diagnosis of life threatening fungal infections such as Aspergillosis as early as possible in at risk patient populations such as those with CF," Thornback said.