CDC awards $11.4 million in contracts for avian flu diagnostics
Agency hopes for a rapid bedside test that can be used by untrained personnel; winners are Cepheid, IQuum, Meso Scale Diagnostics, and Nanogen; more money forthcoming for successful companies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took a strong step this week when it was awarded $11.4 million in new contracts to four biotech companies — all with the hope of developing quicker tests (thirty minutes or less) for avian flu infections. As it stands now, only about 100 specialized laboratories across the world have the ability to perform the tests. Considering that it can take days to deliver samples to the labs, and that the testing process can take an additional twenty-four hours, it is easy to understand why faster methods are required. Ideally, the technologies being developed will follow recent trends and be adapted into portable kits that can be taken into the field by emergency and public health personnel.
The contracts were awarded to Sunnyvale, California-based Cepheid ($2.4 million); Marlborough, Massachusetts-based IQuum ($3.8 million); Gaithersburg, Virginia-based Meso Scale Diagnostics ($706,241); and San Diego-based Nanogen ($4.5 million). These contract awards represent initial allocations. Cepheid’s contract, for instance, allows it to receive up to $14.9 million in total should the CDC be impressed with it efforts. Officials hope the tests will be developed and receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval within two to three years.
-read more in Mike Stobbe’s AP report
