Biodefense
Idaho Technology Delivers BioThreat Detection Kit for US Military
Idaho Technology Inc. has delivered its first shipment of the RAZOR CRP BioThreat-X Kits to the Critical Reagents Program (CRP) which supplies test reagents to the US military. The RAZOR CRP BioThreat-X Kit represents the first U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) system capable of testing for 10 biothreat agents at one time in the field with results available in 30 minutes. The RAZOR CRP BioThreat-X Kit contains polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays developed in DoD laboratories. These assays are...
ZyGem, USAMRIID to Develop Sample Processing for Biothreat Agents
ZyGem Corp. and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development of simplified sample processing solutions for biothreat agents. The two organizations will collaborate on the development, testing and validation of new solutions for the rapid and efficient extraction of DNA and other nucleic acids for the detection of biothreat agents and other pathogens from a variety...
Quanterix Receives DHS Funding for Botulism Test
Quanterix Corp. has been awarded a one year $250,155 contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop an assay capable of detecting single molecules of botulinum toxin (BoNT) within complex environmental samples. In collaboration with the Botulinum Research Center (BRC) at UMass Dartmouth, Quanterix will develop and validate a high sensitivity assay capable of measuring extremely low levels of the BoNT agent. "The detection of low copy numbers of toxins and pathogenic...
Akonni Biosystems Wins Contract to Develop Sample Prep Technology for Nucleic Acids, Proteins
Akonni Biosystems and CUBRC Inc. have been awarded a $774,000 contract by the U.S. Army to develop an automated sample preparation system for isolating biological threat indicators for downstream use with field-based detection systems. This award will enable CUBRC and Akonni to accelerate development of a family of disposable, rapid, multi-analyte extraction and purification products that utilize Akonni’s TruTip technology for rapid solid phase extraction of nucleic acids and proteins....
FDA Clears First Test to Diagnose Q Fever in Military Personnel Serving Overseas
FDA cleared the first nucleic acid amplification test to diagnose the early stages of Q fever infections in military personnel serving overseas. The Chemical Biological Medical System Joint Project Management Office within the U.S. Department of Defense funded the development of this test, which identifies and detects the bacteria that cause Q fever (Coxiella burnetii) within four hours. The test was developed by Idaho Technology Inc. FDA cleared this test to be used on the Defense Department...
Akonni Biosystems Announces Signing of License Agreement With USAMRIID
Akonni Biosystems has signed a license agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). The license agreement provides Akonni full access, under patents owned or licensed by USAMRIID and its affiliates, to the nucleic acid sequences, primers, and probes for many of the most important biological threat agents. Having access to this content will allow Akonni Biosystems to commercialize more rapidly a family of highly multiplexed tests for research and IVD...
Micronics Receives $2.6M Molecular Diagnostic Blood Screening Award from DOD
Micronics Inc. announced that the Department of Defense has awarded the company an Applied Research and Technology Development Award under the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command’s Polytrauma and Blast Injury project for advancement of its PanNAT system for point-of-care molecular diagnosis of infectious pathogens. In the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command’s Broad Area Announcement, the Armed Forces expressed interest in innovative medical technology to...
Biosearch Technologies Awarded Phase II Army SBIR Grant
Biosearch Technologies Inc. announced that it has been awarded a  Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the Department of Defense (DoD). The purpose of the $800,000+ Phase II grant is to continue the design and development of rapid and highly accurate assays for pathogens of military importance. The assays will be based on reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) modified for field deployment in overseas military operations. The grant...
Idaho Technology Launches Biodetection Training Kit
Idaho Technology Inc. launched the new RAZOR Simulant Training Kit (SIM 10) that provides functional training for RAZOR EX and RAZOR operators. The new SIM 10 Kit is formatted exactly like The 10 Target Screen Kit (The 10) and contains assays for yeast and Bacillus globigii (Bg) which are frequently used as powder or anthrax simulants in training exercises. The SIM 10 is available immediately for sale and allows trainees to practice sample collection and preparation, pouch loading, and...
Northrop Grumman, Luminex Collaborate on Next Generation Autonomous Biodetectors
Luminex Corp. (Austin, TX) announced that it has signed a teaming agreement with Northrop Grumman Corp. to collaborate in the creation of next generation biodetectors that will continuously monitor the environment and serve as an early warning system to alert authorities regarding the release of potentially harmful airborne agents. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will work together to develop a new fully autonomous biological detection system. The system is being developed...