MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verax Biomedical today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Fisher Healthcare, a large healthcare laboratory product distributor, authorizing the company to distribute its Platelet PGD® Test through its channel in the U.S.

The agreement with Fisher Healthcare comes as Verax prepares for expected FDA guidance on bacterial risk mitigation strategies for platelets. This move optimally positions Verax to serve its rapidly growing base of hospital users.

“We’re extremely pleased that Fisher Healthcare will make our PGD Test available through its channel,” said Jim Lousararian, CEO of Verax. “Their hospital customers have been asking them for the ability to purchase PGD through their established distribution channel and this will dramatically increase our footprint in the U.S., allowing us to better serve our growing base of customers.”

Fisher Healthcare maintains a large sales force of account executives who call on customers across the U.S. that will now complement Verax’s own sales force. The agreement with Fisher Healthcare represents a shift from Verax’s previous distributor, Fenwal / Freesnius Kabi, whose primary sales force focused on blood centers.

The Platelet PGD Test is designed to detect bacterial contamination in platelets and is optimally used on the day of transfusion in the hospital transfusion service setting. By shifting distribution to a dominant hospital-focused distributor in advance of expected FDA final guidance, Verax will be able to quickly access and serve a rapidly expanding customer base.

The PGD Test is FDA cleared as a Safety Measure, enabling its users to extend platelet dating from 5 to 7 days. Over 15 percent of platelets outdate annually in the U.S. at considerable cost to the healthcare system. PGD users who extend platelet dating with PGD report saving an average of over $200,000 annually through reduced platelet discards.

About Verax Biomedical

Verax is the producer of the Platelet PGD® Test, the only rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelets granted a Safety Measure claim by the FDA. The test can be used to extend the dating of apheresis platelets in plasma, the most common platelet type transfused in the U.S., from 5 to 7 days. This dating extension offers the opportunity for significant cost savings to the hospital and blood banking community while preserving a critical life-giving resource. For more information, visit www.veraxbiomedical.com.

About Fisher Healthcare

Fisher Healthcare is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $24 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. It focuses on helping its customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity.