Cepheid have introduced a real time PCR assay that can detect three biothreat agents automatically from the same unknown sample, the 3-Agent Biothreat assay for the Cepheid GeneXpert® System, identifies Bacillus anthracis(anthrax), Yersinia pestis (Bubonic Plague), and Francisella tularensis (Rabbit Fever).

Positive test results are available in approximately 70 minutes. The three organisms covered by the 3-agent assay are listed as "Category A Priority Pathogens" by The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The GeneXpert 3-Agent assay follows the successful introduction of the GeneXpert Anthrax test. Used by government agencies and first response units nationwide, GeneXpert Anthrax tests are most notably in use at the U.S. Department of State and in the United States Postal Service Biohazard Detection System, where more than 2.3 million tests have been run since 2004 without a single false positive.

Cepheid's GeneXpert is currently the world's only closed integrated system to combine sample preparation with real time PCR , amplification and detection -- delivering fully-integrated and automated DNA analysis. The system purifies, concentrates, detects and identifies targeted nucleic acid sequences, delivering answers from unprocessed samples in minutes.