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BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.) announced Aug. 15 a commercial collaboration under which the Franklin Lakes-based company will offer Accelerate Diagnostics Inc.’s rapid tests through its global sales network.

Accelerate, based in Tucson, Ariz., provides rapid in-vitro diagnostics in microbiology. The collaboration includes its rapid-testing solution for antibiotic resistance and susceptibility, which offers results in a few hours—as opposed to the one- or two-day turnaround of traditional lab methods, according to BD.

“When a patient is very sick, every minute matters,” Brooke Story, president of integrated diagnostic solutions for BD, said in a statement. “Rapid testing can quickly determine if an antibiotic should be used for treatment, and if so, which one. 

“Through our collaboration with Accelerate Diagnostics, we can help clinicians more quickly, efficiently and effectively treat patients, which may lead to a reduction in health care costs and help slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance,” Story added. 

BD will market and sell the Accelerate Pheno system and Accelerate Arc module and test kits in territories where products have regulatory approval or registration, the company said. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

According to BD, the PhenoTest BC kit is the first test cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that can deliver both rapid identification and phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility results in hours from positive blood cultures.