RPS Diagnostics, a Sarasota-based commercial diagnostic developer, manufacturer, and marketer of point-of-care diagnostic tests, and Lumos Diagnostics, a California-based, full-service, point-of-care diagnostic development company announced that they have merged. The combined company will be called Lumos Diagnostics.

Lumos Diagnostics’ initial focus is on the international launch of the RPS Diagnostics-developed FebriDx test, a 10-minute, in-office point-of-care test that can test for an immune response to acute respiratory infections and indicate whether the infections are viral or bacterial. 

Acute respiratory infections are often highly contagious and result in more than half of all antibiotics prescriptions for primary care and urgent care visits. Clinical trials in the U.S. indicate that the FebriDx test has high accuracy; moreover, in a small United Kingdom outcome study, FebriDx was shown to alter treatment plans in 48 percent of patients tested, and also reduced unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions by 80 percent. By enabling a quick diagnosis at the initial office visit, the FebriDx test may help to limit the amount of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions that can lead to avoidable adverse reactions and antibiotic resistance, resulting in lower costs. 

"Using FebriDx to help triage outpatient ARI is a game changer because successful antibiotic stewardship requires the clinician to first rule out a clinically significant bacterial infection," says Dr. Robert Sambursky, the president and CEO of RPS Diagnostics, who will continue in the same role for Lumos Diagnostics. "In addition, access to novel Lumos Diagnostics reader technology will facilitate next generation digital enhancements which will accelerate speed to results, allow for quantitation, and enhance objectivity of our branded product lines.”