Beckman Coulter, a global clinical diagnostics leader, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with Quidel Corporation to obtain all rights related to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of a BNP assay for Beckman Coulter analyzers.  Under the terms of the agreements, Quidel will continue to manufacture and supply certain components to Beckman Coulter related to the assay, and Beckman Coulter will exclusively manufacture and sell to customers the BNP assay currently sold as TRIAGE® BNP by Quidel, under the brand name Access BNP. In addition, the agreements fully resolve disputes and ongoing litigation between Beckman Coulter and Quidel. 

- This BNP assay for Beckman Coulter immunoassay analyzers, currently sold as TRIAGE® BNP by Quidel, will now be sold by Beckman Coulter under the brand name Access BNP

- Laboratories will have continued supply of the high-quality BNP assay that exclusively runs on Beckman Coulter immunoassay platforms

• Customers will benefit as the transaction will allow them to purchase all their testing needs from Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter will supply Access BNP globally through the company's distribution channels and will partner with Quidel to transition customers, globally, to Access BNP over the coming months. The schedule per country will be based on local regulations with the United States and some other countries transitioning first.  Quidel will cease distribution of the BNP assay after a transition period.

Beckman Coulter's comprehensive cardiac diagnostics menu provides the tests clinical laboratories need to support informed clinical decision making. Access BNP joins other Beckman Coulter cardiovascular diseases (CVD) assays, such as Access hsTnI, the first FDA-cleared high sensitivity troponin I assay, AccuTnI+3 (Troponin I), CK-MB (Creatine Kinase MB), Myoglobin and Digoxin.

"We are excited to add Access BNP to Beckman Coulter's line of high-quality cardiac assays and provide a streamlined customer experience for our many customers that use this critical assay," said Julie Sawyer Montgomery, president, Beckman Coulter. "Successful management of CVD means reducing the risk of adverse events by making the right decisions quickly. Our panel of CVD assays supports advancing care for cardiac patients."

Cardiovascular diseases account for an estimated 31% of all deaths worldwide and are the number one cause of death, globally killing ~17.9 million people each year. Four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, while one third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age[i]. The cost of CVDs globally is estimated to rise to $1 trillion USD by 2030[ii]. Clinical laboratories can support care for patients experiencing, or at risk for, cardiovascular disease. The speed and accuracy of the information a clinical laboratory delivers are critical to improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of care.

"BNP is a protein secreted by the ventricular musculature in response to volume or pressure overload on the heart. This is an important biomarker in the diagnosis of heart failure (HF)[iii] and left ventricular dysfunction[iv]," said Dr. Anagh Vora, chief medical officer, Beckman Coulter.