PositiveID, an emerging growth company and developer of advanced technologies for diabetes management as well as sophisticated airborne bio-threat detection systems for America’s homeland defense industry, announced today that it has received material from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Influenza Division-National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases to develop a diagnostic assay to detect Influenza A H5N1, also known as avian flu. This assay will provide a test result in less than 30 minutes at the point of care, and is expected to be available for the upcoming flu season for diagnostic and surveillance applications.
The United Nations has urged people to be ready against a possible but major resurgence of the avian flu. According to the CDC, of the few avian influenza viruses that have crossed the species barrier to infect humans, the mutant strain of bird flu has caused the largest number of detected cases of severe disease and death in humans. Human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported in Asia, Africa, Europe, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Pacific, and the near East. Slightly more than 60 percent of those who became ill have died.
PositiveID’s assay for avian flu, as well as its other currently available assays, will run on the Company’s patented Dragonfly Rapid MDx platform. Dragonfly was created out of the Company’s M-BAND system, which was developed under contract from the Department of Homeland Security. The H5N1 assay will also be compatible with other commercial platforms.
The Company currently has proven assays for E.coli O157:H7; human papilloma virus (HPV); methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); and a multiplex bio-threat assay that simultaneously tests for six bio-threat organisms on the CDC Category A and B list.
The development of an H5N1 assay is the Company’s most recent push into the clinical diagnostics market, where it will offer faster, less expensive testing methods than those that are commonly used.
William J. Caragol, Chairman and CEO of PositiveID, stated, “Our assay for H5N1, as well as our other clinical diagnostic assays, will be faster and less expensive than the industry standard testing protocol. Furthermore, our microfluidic technology is highly adaptable, which enables us to develop new assays for emerging bio-threats and viruses relatively quickly, which we believe will help us as we enter the clinical diagnostic market.”
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