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DURHAM, N.C. (December 9, 2004) — bioMérieux,
Inc. today announced the launch of its STELLARA™ Clinical
Intervention and Patient Monitoring software at the American
Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) forum in Orlando,
Florida. Commercially available in January 2005, the STELLARA
systems provide knowledge-enriched, infectious disease-specific
recommendations to clinicians for medication treatment management
based upon individual patient profiles, lab results and parameters.
STELLARA software integrates microbiology results (identification/susceptibility/resistance)
from bioMérieux’s BacT/ALERT® and
VITEK® systems directly to the pharmacist and
clinician to allow for quicker and more accurate treatment decisions
for the patient. The availability of this real-time information
allows clinicians to rapidly match the identified bacteria to
the most effective antibiotic(s), avoiding potential medication
errors and reducing chances of costly adverse drug events, thus
shortening hospital stays.
The latest in intelligent patient therapy management, STELLARA
also offers the clinician access to data across a hospital or
hospital system to identify trends of bacteria and antibiotic
susceptibility/resistance, giving the clinician a more complete
picture of the local environment. Antimicrobial therapeutic
recommendations are supported by actual citations and web links
to journal articles and research sources. Additionally, the
clinician will be automatically alerted if a drug interaction
is likely, which increases the opportunity for intervention
and decreases the chances of an adverse drug event.
On average, each adverse drug event adds between $2,200 and
$4,000 during a hospital stay1. In fact, for every
dollar spent in the U.S. on medication, $1.60 is incurred in
correcting drug issues2.
“With more than $120 billion spent in treating adverse
drug events each year, STELLARA will provide significant cost
savings, not to mention improved patient safety and care,”
said J. Kelly Martin, PharmD., director of pharmaceutical services,
Franciscan Health Systems in Tacoma, Washington. “The
product we were using was good, but STELLARA has more depth,
versatility and connectivity; it can be accessed from the Internet,
and allows clinicians to customize alerts or alarms from most
any drug therapy, micro, or lab screen.”
“STELLARA will also play an important role in creating
better records for hospitals, which has become vital in today’s
‘Pay for Performance’ environment,” said Eric
Bouvier, bioMérieux’s North American president.
“The software provides reports that show evidence-based
outcomes, cost recovery and real savings.”
bioMérieux’s web-based application operates on
Palm® systems, offering mobility for the clinician.
Moreover, the system provides documented return on investment
for the hospital. STELLARA is powered by TheraDoc®,
Inc., a Salt Lake City-based medical informatics company focused
on clinical decision support.
About bioMérieux
bioMérieux, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of bioMérieux
S.A., a company headquartered in France. bioMérieux is
a leading international diagnostics group that specializes in
the field of in vitro diagnostics for clinical and industrial
applications. bioMérieux designs, develops, manufactures
and markets systems (i.e. reagents, instruments and software)
used in:
Clinical applications: the diagnosis of infectious
diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, tuberculosis and respiratory
illnesses, as well as pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases
and cancer, based on the analysis of biological samples (such
as blood, saliva or urine); and
Industrial applications: the microbiological
analysis of food, environments (such as water and air), surfaces
and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, based on the analysis
of product or environmental samples. bioMérieux has pioneered
this business and is the world leader.
In 2003, the company’s sales reached 914 million euros
(i.e., more than one billion dollars) and eighty-two percent
of the company’s sales are international. The company
is present in more than 130 countries through 33 subsidiaries
and a large network of distributors, which positions the company
well to benefit from the growth potential of the in vitro diagnostics
market. Some important drivers that underpin this growth are
aging populations and age-related illness, illnesses related
to life-style and eating habits, emerging pathogens, the development
of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the fight against bio-terrorism,
the recognition of the importance of the quality of food products,
cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The company employs more than
5,300 people worldwide.
bioMérieux is listed on the Premier Marché of
Euronext, Paris (FR0010096479 – BIM).
1“The Cost
of Adverse Drug Events in Hospitalized Patients” D.Classen
et al, JAMA January 22/29, 1997- Vol 277 No 4.
2 Alliance for Pharmaceutical Care - a consortium
of ten national organizations: AACP, ACCP, AMCP, APhA, ASCP,
ASHP, HDMA, NACDS, NCPA, and NCSPAE.
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