FDA clears Fenwal tests

LAKE ZURICH - Fenwal Inc., a global medical technology company focused on improving blood collection, separation, safety and availability, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Verax Platelet PGD test as a quality control test to detect bacterial contamination in whole blood-derived, pooled platelets before transfusion. Fenwal is the exclusive global distributor of the test, which was developed by Verax Biomedical of Worcester, Mass. The Verax test is the only rapid diagnostic test to receive FDA clearance for detecting bacteria in both pooled and single-donor platelets. The test can be performed in about 30 minutes and is designed for use in hospitals, cancer centers and other sites of care as a safeguard before transfusion.