• New MBT Pathfinder® IVD robot for automated MALDI Biotyper® target preparation
• New LiquidArray® MTB-XDR panel for simultaneous detection of M. tuberculosis complex bacteria, and their resistances to five WHO-recommended second-line drugs against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
• Pending ELITech acquisition has received all regulatory clearances; closing now expected in the second quarter of 2024

Bruker is enhancing its innovative diagnostic solutions in microbial identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), early sepsis diagnostics, and other infectious disease assays. Simplifying microbiology and infectious disease diagnostics and workflows in the clinical laboratory is a key goal for Bruker in support of earlier and improved patient treatment decisions.

Microbial identification – towards automated sample preparation

The latest MALDI Biotyper® workflow uses MBT Compass HT IVD software to increase throughput up to 600 samples per hour, and automated instrument tuning via IDealTune™. An optional workflow now offers semi-automated sample preparation via the MBT Pathfinder ® IVD robot to avoid time-consuming, repetitive and error-prone manual tasks.

Sepsis – when every minute counts

When the correct antibiotic treatment for sepsis is given quickly, outcomes can improve dramatically. The IVD-CE MALDI Biotyper®, used in conjunction with the MBT Sepsityper® IVD Kit, can identify pathogens within 20 minutes from a positive blood culture bottle. Bruker offers additional clinical workflows for rapid functional antibiotic resistance testing, like the MBT STAR®-Carba IVD assay for the detection of carbapenemase activity.

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST)

AST can indicate which antimicrobial regimen is effective for patients. Bruker’s UMIC ® tests deliver accurate results for single antibiotics and combinations, and the MICRONAUT range offers AST of multiple antibiotics in a single test in a user-friendly workflow in compliance with CLSI/EUCAST recommendations. The UMIC® portfolio covers five antibiotics and combinations, namely colistin, piperacillin-tazobactam, vancomycin/teicoplanin, daptomycin and cefiderocol.

In addition, Bruker is developing the new MBT-fAST assay for rapid AST of gram-negative bacteria from positive blood cultures directly on the MALDI Biotyper® platform. The MBT-fAST clinical studies are planned for the second half of 2024.

Bruker also intends concurrent clinical studies for IVDR certification of lipid A-based colistin resistance detection. This and the on-going development of microbial species and subspecies differentiation based on lipid patterns will further enhance the value of the MALDI Biotyper® sirius system for clinical laboratories. The MALDI Biotyper® sirius stands out as the first MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry system for microbial identification that uses the negative ion mode for microbial lipid analysis. Currently, this feature is for Research Use Only (RUO), setting the stage for forthcoming clinical applications.

Outbreak control

The Bruker IR Biotyper® enables efficient microbial strain typing of bacteria and yeasts for real-time epidemiological surveillance for a range of disease-causing pathogens. During outbreak scenarios within hospitals, the IR Biotyper can help prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAI). The IR Biotyper® for hospital hygiene and infection control can be combined with the MALDI Biotyper® for microbial species identification.

LiquidArray® – next-generation syndromic panels

The new LiquidArray® Gastrointestinal syndromic panel facilitates the simultaneous detection of up to 26 pathogens responsible for gastroenteritis. This streamlines clinical decision-making by allowing the simultaneous analysis of multiple targets from a single sample.

The rise of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains has added complexity to TB diagnosis and treatment – and global travel is causing re-emergence in formerly low risk countries. Bruker’s new multiplex mycobacteria test LiquidArray® MTB-XDR VER 1.0, detects TB-causing bacteria of the M. tuberculosis complex and identifies resistance to five WHO-recommended second-line drugs.

Dr. Wolfgang Pusch, President of the Bruker Microbiology & Infection Diagnostics division, commented: “Bruker is committed to innovation in routine microbiology and infectious disease testing. This includes nearly universal microbial identification with the MALDI Biotyper®, rapid blood culture analysis with the MBT Sepsityper® IVD Kit, early implementation of diagnostics for new antibiotics with our UMIC® portfolio, real-time epidemiological surveillance with the IR Biotyper®, and syndromic panels with our LiquidArray®assay portfolio.”

Pending ELITechGroup Acquisition Regulatory Clearances

As announced on February 28, 2024, Bruker Corporation has signed a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire ELITechGroup, excluding the ELITech clinical chemistry business. All regulatory clearances for this acquisition have now been received, and closing of the acquisition is expected during Q2 2024, subject to remaining closing conditions.

About Bruker Corporation

Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and next-gen semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics