LexaGene Holdings Inc (TSX-V:LXG, OTCQB:LXXGF) has announced that a corporate veterinary reference laboratory has purchased three MiQLa Systems for one of its many locations.
The company’s CEO Dr Jack Regan noted that testing in the veterinary industry is dominated by three corporate companies that have testing locations across the United States. These multi-billion dollar corporations compete against each other for business from veterinary hospitals and clinics that want faster results than the typical 3-5 day wait for culturing bacteria, he added.
“In contrast to culture, we are happy to provide the MiQLab System as a rapid two-hour solution for determining whether pathogens are present in a sample and if they harbor drug resistance genes,” Regan said in a statement. “We are confident their experience with our technology will be a good one. Success in this location may result in additional purchases for their other locations and possibly start a wave of adoption in the other corporations as well."
READ: LexaGene unveils advancements to its sample preparation cartridge for veterinary market
LexaGene also announced the sale of a MiQLab System to a university veterinary school in Florida to be used in their veterinary health lab.
"We are pleased to place units into veterinary schools, where students are being taught the importance of evidence-based decision making and about the advantages of PCR for rapid pathogen identification,” Regan continued. “Having students, who as new graduates have the most risk of suffering from the consequences of poor antimicrobial stewardship practices, exposed to the advantages of the MiQLab System early in their training will pay dividends on future sales."
As it is important that LexaGene's name is associated with best-in-class care, Regan said the company has become a Garnet Member of the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) Strategic Alliance Program.
LexaGene noted that AAHA's mission and vision is 'simplifying the journey towards excellence for veterinary practices'. AAHA is the only organization to accredit companion animal veterinary hospitals.
To become AAHA accredited, the company said practices undergo regular, comprehensive onsite evaluations by AAHA veterinary experts who evaluate each practice on more than 900 standards of veterinary care. Today, more than 4,500 practice teams (about 15% of veterinary practices in the US and Canada) are AAHA accredited or pre-accredited.
“AAHA is very passionate about antimicrobial stewardship, and we have recently engaged with AAHA for a market research survey - and found that 60% of the 165 respondents would purchase a technology that can provide rapid in-clinic testing for many pathogens and resistance markers,” Regan said. “It is our belief that additional field-validation of our technology, which will be facilitated by our recent advancements to our sample preparation cartridge, will provide the data necessary to see an increase in the rate of our sales."
Beverly, Massachusetts-based LexaGene is a molecular diagnostics company that develops molecular diagnostic systems for pathogen detection and genetic testing for other molecular markers for on-site rapid testing in veterinary diagnostics, food safety and for use in open-access markets such as clinical research, agricultural testing, and biodefense.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com