The Development Division within the Research and Development Department of MDL is comprised of four general categories: Blood-Borne Pathogens, Obstetrics/Gynecology/Urinary Tract Infections, Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Cytogenetics. The aim of the first three divisions is to identify potential pathogenic agents clinically germane to their respective focus of interest. Once identified, diagnostic tests are designed for their identification in clinical specimens sampled using MDL’s proprietary OneSwab^®, UroSwab^® and NasoSwab^™ technologies, as well as other medias, including blood, synovial and cerebrospinal fluids and ThinPrep. Dividing the pathogenic agents clinically allows MDL to concentrate their efforts upon medically relevant infectious agents that meet the needs of both the physician and the individual through our extensive testing menus and rapid reporting times. MDL’s goal is to aid the physician in planning their course of treatment. Antibiotic resistance is a naturally occurring phenomenon that renders certain antibiotics, oftentimes the treatment of choice, useless. As antibiotic resistant agents are identified, MDL modifies its testing procedures to include reflexive testing that enables physicians to modify their treatment strategies. Such advanced diagnostic testing is already available for ciprofloxacin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae, clindamycin and erythromycin resistant Group B Streptococcus, amantadine-resistant influenza A, and clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori.

Cytogenetics represents a new area of focus for MDL. Within this group, tests are being designed and validated for the identification of carriers of inheritable diseases. Initial tests under development are those most common in Ashkenazi Jewish populations. Our initial release screens for Cystic Fibrosis carrier status in OneSwab^™ and buccal swabs and tests for Huntington’s Disease, Fragile X, Bloom and Canavan’s Syndromes, Familial Dysautonomia, Fanconi’s Anemia, Gaucher, Niemann-Pick and Tay-Sachs Disease are currently under development and will be released soon.