MedGenome expands infectious disease testing portfolio with MetaSeq

image credit- freepik

Bengaluru-based MedGenome, India’s leading genomics-driven diagnostics company, has announced the launch of MetaSeq, an advanced blood test designed to support faster and more comprehensive detection of bloodstream infections (BSI).

MetaSeq uses metagenomic next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyse microbial cell-free DNA (cfDNA) present in the bloodstream. This enables identification of more than 1,400 clinically relevant pathogens in a single test, including bacteria, fungi, parasites, and DNA viruses, without the need for multiple targeted assays.

Traditionally, diagnosing bloodstream infections depends on blood culture tests that can take several days and may yield negative results if patients have been taking antibiotics. MetaSeq detects microbial DNA directly from blood samples, allowing infections to be identified even when traditional methods are inconclusive. The test delivers results in approximately five days and has demonstrated higher sensitivity compared to standard blood culture. This supports clinicians to identify infections with greater confidence, enabling earlier, more informed treatment decisions, especially in critically ill and immunocompromised patients.

MetaSeq is CE-IVD validated for peripheral blood samples, which means that the test can also be performed on other clinical sample types such as cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, and ascitic fluid.

MedGenome partnered with Noscendo, a leading German company specialising in software-based pathogen diagnostics, to develop this test. MetaSeq is powered by Noscendo’s DISQVER^® platform, which uses advanced bioinformatics algorithms for accurate pathogen identification. DISQVER^® is recognised by the World Health Organization as the only clinically approved NGS platform for diagnosing invasive fungal diseases.