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IQuum Awarded CDC Contract to Develop Rapid Point-of-care Diagnostics for Avian Influenza Marlborough, MA, December 4, 2006 – IQuum, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a $3.8 million contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the development of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for avian influenza. The current award represents the first two of five phases of the total development and commercialization project originally announced by the CDC. Under this 12 month contract, IQuum will lead a team of molecular diagnostic industry leaders and biotechnology innovators to develop nucleic acid tests based on the company’s innovative lab-in-a-tube technology to differentiate influenza A H5N1 from seasonal human influenza viruses. “We are pleased to receive this important CDC contract award,” said Dr. Shuqi Chen, CEO of IQuum, Inc. “Our Liat™ platform is ideally suited for such critical point-of-care applications and look forward to providing the influenza detection tools to help safeguard our nation’s public health.” Since 2003, 258 confirmed human cases and 153 deaths from avian influenza A H5N1 had been reported in Southeast Asia, Africa and Western Europe. Although most cases of avian influenza infection in humans result from direct contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces, rare instances of human-to-human transmission have occurred. Given the high case fatality rate and potential viral mutation to enable sustained person to person transmission, early detection of H5N1 is critical to prevent the onset of a pandemic. There are currently no point-of-care tests that can distinguish seasonal influenza viruses A or B from avian influenza H5N1. Such specific testing test can only be performed in the 140 Laboratory Response Network designated laboratories. Although testing time is usually less than 24 hours, samples must be delivered from the clinic to these labs, resulting in long turnaround times on the order of days from sample collection to the receipt of results. IQuum’s Liat™ Analyzer can bring such accurate H5N1 detection capabilities to the point-of-care. The system is a fully automated, portable and standalone molecular diagnostics system that refines nucleic acid testing to three simple steps: collecting a raw biological sample into a Liat Tube, scanning the tube's barcode, and inserting the tube into the Liat Analyzer. The analyzer automatically executes all the required assay steps, including reagent preparation, target enrichment, inhibitor removal, nucleic acid extraction, amplification and real-time detection, and reports test results on the built-in touch screen in 30 minutes to 1 hour. No further operator intervention or data interpretation is required. The Liat system’s simplicity, along with its closed tube design and robust error prevention features, makes it ideally suited for point-of-care molecular diagnostics, such as that for avian influenza diagnostics. Once developed, the Liat™ Influenza/H5 Assay will allow doctors, field epidemiologists and public health experts to rapidly diagnose avian influenza infections at critical near patient sites, such as emergency rooms, hospitals, and airports. Such advanced detection capabilities will provide crucial information on circulating influenza viruses and help monitor for viruses that could cause a global influenza pandemic. About IQuum, Inc. IQuum is the leader in developing lab-in-a-tube technology, a novel biological sample testing platform which provides revolutionary benefits to a broad cross section of the bioassay market. The Company's proprietary technology enables the non-specialized personnel to perform more sophisticated biological sample testing in any setting with greater speed. Founded in 1998, the Company is commercializing its lab-in-a-tube technology and products for the clinical diagnostics, bio-defense, and industrial testing markets. For more information, please visit www.IQuum.com.
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