Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a new diagnostic test to help physicians better detect and manage lung transplant rejection.
Dubbed the Molecular Microscope Diagnostic System for Lung, the test uses machine learning to profile gene expression data from lung biopsies and compares them with a reference set of more than 896 lung biopsies, the company said in an Oct. 8 press release.
Lung transplants have become a standard of care for end-stage lung disease, with the number of procedures nearly doubling in the U.S. in the past decade. However, such transplant patients still battle higher rates of rejection versus other solid organ transplants and face a five-year survival rate of less than 60.2%, according to statistics cited by Thermo Fisher.
With Thermo Fisher’s new test, physicians can estimate the likelihood of rejection using molecular scores tied to injury and graft dysfunction.
“The launch of MMDx Lung enhances our comprehensive portfolio of post-transplant monitoring solutions and reflects our ongoing commitment to helping our customers personalize patient care and improve outcomes throughout the transplant journey,” Tina Liedtky, president of Thermo Fisher’s transplant diagnostics group, said in the release.
The test was developed in conjunction with Kashi Clinical Laboratories and has not been cleared or approved by the FDA or EU regulatory agencies as an in vitro application.
Thermo Fisher’s latest unveiling comes less than a month after it rolled out a test that profiles dozens of proteins linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.
The new test products come in the wake of the company’s $3.1 billion acquisition late last year of Olink, a Swedish developer of protein-based analyzers, tests and services.