Repertoire Magazine

Promoting Excellence in Healthcare Sales

The GeneXpert®: Molecular Innovation at its Finest

Sponsored: Cepheid

By Luke Maitland

Are you looking for a competitive advantage in your territory? Doyou need to differentiate your value to your customer base? How can this be achieved, you ask? You have to change the game! You have to understand the challenges in your industry and what your customers face. Apple, Facebook, Google, and GE changed the game. They did this by making their technologies or platforms ubiquitous and by providing the ability for consumers to have a personalized approach. Today, there is a leader in the molecular fieldofin vitro diagnostics (IVD) who has accomplished thesame thing – Cepheid, Inc. Cepheid is the leading innovator in molecular diagnostics and has installed approximately 15,000 GeneXpert® Systems;theyhave delivered millions of tests for healthcare-associated infections, respiratory diseases, sexual health, and virology.

There is a saying in healthcare: “If you have seen one health system, you have only ever seen one health system.” No two health systems are alike, nor are the patient-care needs of your clients. Cepheid understands this. Therefore, 20 years ago, Cepheid embarked on an ambitious mission. The vision was to enable as many people as possible to have access to molecular diagnostic tests that provide critical information quickly, to guide treatment and patient management. Cepheid found that access to best-in-class molecular diagnostics had been limited by the complexity of specimens, tests, and the systems that run them.

So, the GeneXpert® was developed. The GeneXpert® family of systems have set a new standard in workflow flexibility, 24/7 testing accuracy, and user-friendly design – delivered in an astonishingly beautiful and compact package. The GeneXpert® System is the cornerstone of Cepheid’s unique approach to a molecular diagnostics product suite, which offers a growing menu of 21 FDA cleared tests, on a single, fully scalable, consolidated platform. The GeneXpert® System is available in a 1-, 2-, 4-, 16-, 48-, or 80-module configuration. This unique architecture provides clinics, hospitals, and health systems the ability to easily scale to any environment – from smaller, near-patient applications to larger, core lab needs. Furthermore, all tests use the same patented cartridge technology for every Xpert® test, making the user experience the same, regardless of what assay they decide to run*.

“GeneXpert® stands out in the sea of competitors because of our scalable architecture, small footprint, best-in-class assays, and breadth of our menu.” – Chris Weaver, Director of Sales

Cepheid’s innovation of accuracy, speed, and ease-of-use will continue with the addition of the Xpert® Xpress product line. Xpert® Xpress features next-generation test design and cartridge innovations for best-in-class workflow and dramatically faster results (as soon as 20 minutes). In other words, it’s rapid testing with NO compromise in ease-of-use, quality, and accuracy. Xpert® Xpress Flu, Flu/RSV, and Strep A for non-waived laboratories are all available now, with Xpert® Xpress CT/NG, and Xpert® Xpress Vaginitis/Vaginosis soon following. The GeneXpert® will go through the CLIA waiver process with the new Xpert® Xpress product line in 2018, making tests available for physician office use.

Theutilizationof rapid molecular diagnostics like the GeneXpert® has a positive impact on patients and economics:

  • Medical Value: Patient Impact
    • Reduce additional office visits
    • Delivery of appropriate therapy
  • Efficiency: Economic Impact
    • Reduce unnecessary antibiotics
    • Improve sample to result workflow
  • Reputation: Community Impact
    • Lower transmission rates
    • Increased patient satisfaction

“Cepheid has taken the manual hands-on steps involved in current molecular procedures and simplified it to just adding a sample and letting the GeneXpert® do the work! Accurate and actionable molecular testing made simple.” – Denise Furtado, Marketing Manager, Non-Acute

The next time your customer asks about the availability of molecular testing for infectious diseases, just say “Check.” A scalable system in different formats? Check. Sample preparation and detection in one cartridge? Check. Seconds of hands-on time? Check. The same cartridge for all GeneXpert® Systems? Check. Growing assay menu of 21 FDA cleared tests? Check.

The world’s first sample-in, answer-out solution will allow you to differentiate from your competitors and, more importantly, provide real clinical value to your customer base.

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