The collaboration with the FDA Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment will focus inaugural projects on Shiga-toxin producing E. coli, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes

CHICAGO - Feb. 28, 2024 - bioMérieux, a world leader in in vitro diagnostics for 60 years, has entered into a strategic research collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Offices of Applied Research and Safety Assessment (OARSA) and Regulatory Science (ORS) to develop tools to combat food-borne pathogens. The agreement will pave the way for many innovative projects to improve detection and microbial characterization systems for pathogens that pose a risk in foods.

"bioMérieux is incredibly proud to enter into strategic, collaborative research with the FDA. Our mission is to improve public health worldwide and after 30 years of serving the North American food safety and quality space, we're looking forward to innovating with industry leaders in real-time to solve the country's most complex public health problems with the xPRO™ Program," said Miguel Villa, Senior Vice President, Industrial Applications, Americas at bioMérieux.

The inaugural collaborative projects between bioMérieux and FDA/CFSAN will focus on using novel technologies to improve the isolation of Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STECs), enhance detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis and simplify microbial characterization methods for food-borne pathogens including Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, among others. The projects are being developed through bioMérieux's xPRO™ Program, the catalyst that offers cutting-edge molecular diagnostics to quality and safety departments in the food, beverage, and dietary supplement industries since 2021.

"bioMérieux is committed to innovation and the xPRO™ Program is the result of an ever evolving and increasingly nuanced landscape of existing and emerging food safety and food security challenges. The FDA's ongoing transformation under the proposed Human Foods Program makes this a natural collaboration and we look forward to extensive collaboration to minimize risk and further public health," said Vik Dutta, Senior Director, Scientific Affairs and Market Access, Americas at bioMérieux.

For more information on bioMérieux or the xPRO™ Program, please visit https://www.biomerieux.com/us/en.html.

Pioneering Diagnostics

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics since 1963, bioMérieux is present in 45 countries and serves more than 160 countries with the support of a large network of distributors. In 2022, revenues reached €3.6 billion, with over 90% of sales outside of France.

bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software and services) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are mainly used for diagnosing infectious diseases. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. www.biomerieux.com