Cepheid has been selected to participate in a program to develop rapid diagnostic methods for improving the diagnosis of infectious diseases in children.

The project, which is a collaborative effort including Cepheid, Children's Medical Center of Dallas and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, involves the development of rapid diagnostic test protocols, procedures, and reagents using Cepheid's Smart Cycler and GeneXpert platforms. Dr. Beverly Rogers, chief of pathology at Children's and professor of pathology at UT Southwestern, is leading the program which will focus on the development of rapid nucleic acid testing methods for enterovirus and herpes simplex virus which are major causes of meningitis, and Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria that causes whooping cough. Despite immunization programs, this disease continues to be a serious health concern. The one-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant to Children's Medical Center of Dallas will total $435,000, part of which will be used to purchase GeneXpert systems and cartridges.

"The GeneXpert system is ideally suited to this type of test because of its speed, its automated sample processing capability, and its ability to detect multiple DNA sequences in the same reaction. Scheduled for market availability in 2003, the GeneXpert is designed to provide a fully automated genetic assessment result, sample in - answer out," said Kurt Petersen, Cepheid president and chief operating officer.

Dr. Rogers remarked, "Innovations in diagnostic testing that incorporate molecular biology into the routine care of the patient are ringing in the millennium. The Cepheid GeneXpert system is the first 'walk-away' instrument that combines all of the aspects of the PCR, so that a health-care worker can take a sample from a patient, place the sample into the instrument, and have an answer within an hour. The rapid diagnosis of childhood meningitis, sepsis, or even antibiotic resistance will soon be available in 'real-time,' that is 24 hours a day/seven days a week. There is great potential to identify infections faster, treat patients better, and save patient admissions to the hospital, resulting in cost savings to the health-care system."