APAS Independence at Limbach Group of laboratories

Adelaide, Australia, 13 October 2020

We are delighted to announce the sale of the APAS® Independence with MRSA analysis module to the Limbach Group in Germany.

The Limbach Group is one of the largest networks of laboratories in Germany comprising of over 30 laboratories. The first purchase has been made by the Limbach Group SE after the 6-month successful evaluation of the APAS® Independence technology as part of the sales process by MVZ Labor Ravensburg. The successful transaction includes a 5-year software license for the MRSA analysis module as well as an ongoing service contract for the instrument. MVZ Labor Ravensburg is offering a full suite of diagnostics services to meet the demands of the local community.

When evaluating new technologies with an evidence and risk-based approach, clinical sensitivity is a key determinant for procurement and implementation. In this study the clinical sensitivity availed by full implementation option with LIS integration and use of custom flags was 0.998 which indicates the risk of false negatives is extremely low and should provide confidence in the clinical performance of the technology. However, other strategic considerations are also important when laboratories assess the need for implementing new technologies, such as availability of specialist microbiology staff, reducing workload and manual handling, and the benefits of process standardization and optimisation.

The installation, calibration, and ongoing maintenance of the APAS® Independence instrument will be completed locally by our appointed service provider, oneservice AG, ensuring the instrument is operational despite the COVID-19 current travel restrictions in place. Once installed, Clever Culture Systems’ European Sales Executive will conduct in person user training with the MVZ Labor Ravensburg staff to ensure the laboratory obtains the maximum output from the APAS® Independence instrument at the outset.

MVZ Labor Ravensburg Microbiology Head of department, Dr Ulrike Schumacher said:
“Laboratories require innovative technologies, such as the APAS® Independence, to efficiently meet the ever-growing testing requirements. The benefits the APAS® Independence will introduce to our culture plate workflow will enable us (to) better service our client base and improve turnaround times for routine testing.”

Clever Culture Systems General Manager, Peter Bradley said:
“This sale commences an exciting relationship, especially with MVZ Labor Ravensburg, but potentially also with other labs of the Limbach Group. We look forward to supporting the laboratory through the installation process and continuing to work with them to ensure ongoing success which we expect will be keenly watched by the medical and microbiological experts of the Limbach Group for whom the efficiencies and savings opportunity across all their labs could be significant.

I am also thrilled for the team who have worked extremely hard over a number of months to support MVZ Labor Ravensburg throughout the evaluation and the sales process.”