Swedish firm Q-linea has announced that the company has entered into a worldwide exclusive partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific for the commercialization of ASTar.

Jonas Jarvius, CEO of Q-linea said, "We are very happy and proud to be able to present an important commercial milestone for both companies. The interest in commercializing ASTar® has been very strong from a number of global companies. We are thrilled to be working with Thermo Fisher and especially appreciate their global reach. We share a common market view and agree on how infection diagnosis can be improved.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific™ will have the exclusive right to offer ASTar to the market in all geographies, with the exception that Q-linea can penetrate the Swedish market. The partnership is exclusive to both companies regarding fast AST testing.

Thermo Scientific™ Sensititre™ Complete Automated AST System is the industry standard for traditional MIC determination. Combining Thermo Fisher's long tradition, experience and strength in the field together with Q-linea's unique system for rapid and fully automatic AST analysis has the potential to greatly improve and speed up the diagnosis for patients with severe infectious diseases.

Christophe Fraudeau, President Microbiology, Thermo Fisher Scientific said, "Thermo Fisher is a true market leader but is also a first in line in bringing new antibiotic preparations to the market for testing which is of course interesting for the future. We are very excited by this partnership with Q-linea," said. "Our distribution agreement for the Q-linea ASTar technology will enable our customers to streamline their workflow."

The two companies will work closely together to provide customers with a comprehensive AST portfolio.