3M Health Care forms diagnostics unit

3M Health Care has formed a new Medical Diagnostics business unit that will focus on developing rapid diagnostic product solutions for the detection of key infectious pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other treatment-resistant microbes.

The new diagnostics business will provide hospitals with rapid, easy-to-use microbial diagnostic tests that may help improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, reduce the impact of resistant microbes.

"3M Medical Diagnostics is a natural extension of our infection prevention platform and enables us to offer hospitals a full spectrum of products that detect, prevent and treat infections in the hospital setting," said Angela Dillow, global business manager, 3M Medical Diagnostics. "We see many market trends pointing to the need for rapid, easy-to-use microbial diagnostics that will aid in the prevention and control of infections in hospitals in the US and abroad."

For example, in the US, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines in October 2006, outlining strategies to prevent the spread of drug-resistant infections in health care settings. The screening of patients at high risk for carrying drug-resistant bacteria was recommended for health care facilities that do not improve their health care-associated infection (HCAI) rates.

In the US, current infection prevention patient screening activities include: no screening at all; traditional cultures which provide results in 48 hours; or expensive molecular diagnostics. 3M plans to introduce new rapid diagnostic products that will simplify the diagnostic testing process and provide more rapid results than traditional microbiology tests for the detection of key microbes such as Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and Influenza A and B.

3M's rapid diagnostic tests, expected in 2007, will allow physicians to make informed medical decisions on behalf of their patients, while hospital labs will be able to reduce the amount of hands-on time conducting these tests, which may lead to reduced health care costs and improved laboratory profitability.