Thermo Fisher and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics have renewed their non-exclusive, long-term, royalty-bearing agreement for the use of Thermo Fisher’s Procalcitonin (B·R·A·H·M·S PCT) technology, currently available as an automated immunoassay on the Siemens ADVIA Centaur XP and CP systems in all countries outside the U.S. and China. The agreement extends a long-standing relationship between the companies.

ADVIA immunoassay currently offers clinicians an integrated solution for accurately diagnosing sepsis and monitoring response to antibiotic therapy allowing for improved clinical decision making. The systems have a large global installed base in hospital clinical laboratories.

The PCT biomarker test is for early detection of sepsis in critically ill patients and is recommended to initiate, monitor and discontinue antibiotic treatment in the presence of relevant bacterial infections. Broader availability of PCT testing will lead to improved hospital management and care of patients with sepsis or at high risk of developing it.

“The continuation of our close collaboration with Siemens significantly increases the global reach of this critical biomarker, making it available to a broader patient population,” said Marc Tremblay, president of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Clinical Diagnostics division. “The key for preventing sepsis is the early diagnosis of infections. Early diagnosis also reduces the health economic burden of sepsis therapy, a medical condition that is still very common and accounts for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.”