ARUP Laboratories and IDbyDNA, a data analytics-driven metagenomics company, have launched Explify Respiratory, a next-generation sequencing test designed to help healthcare providers determine the cause of pneumonia and other respiratory infections. The test detects more than 200 common and rare bacterial, fungal, and viral respiratory pathogens and is powered by IDbyDNA’s Taxonomer software, a DNA search engine that rapidly identifies organisms by their genetic material. “We believe Explify Respiratory will provide the critical missing information that clinicians need to direct treatment decisions and will initially be most helpful for very ill patients, test-negative patients with a high level of suspicion for a missed infection, and immunocompromised patients who might be infected with a long list of diverse pathogens,” said Jeffrey Field, IDbyDNA’s chief commercial officer.

Explify Respiratory is now available to ARUP’s 3,000-plus clients across the country. This is the first in a line of tests that the two companies intend to offer as part of a strategic partnership announced in July that aims to develop and commercialize novel infectious diseases testing using metagenomics.