Cepheid Inc. (CPHD) shares gained as much as 9 percent to $17.93, the most intraday since May 10, after the maker of a rapid test for drug-resistant staph infections said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approved its Xpert SA Nasal Complete, a diagnostic molecular test to detect and differentiate two infection-causing bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus [SA] and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] in less than an hour.
According to Cepheid, the product is the first molecular test designed for the simultaneous detection of both of SA & MRSA colonization.
“Up to 93 percent of hospital-acquired SA infections are caused by a patient’s own colonized flora, making SA nasal carriers nearly 9 times more likely to develop surgical site infections than non-carriers,” Cepheid said in a prepared statement.
CEO John Bishop said the availability of an accurate and rapid SA/MRSA test “should help to improve clinicians’ efforts to prevent and control Healthcare Associated Infections identified with colonized patients. HAIs in general are responsible for nearly $30 billion in associated healthcare expenses in the US each year.”
CPHD is up 12 cents, or 0.73%, to $16.61 at 12:10PM EDT in Nasdaq composite trading.
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