A lot going on in Fredcobio

It’s been a busy in Fredcobio.  SIAC-Frederick signs a deal with Sporian for Remote HIV detection

SAIC-Frederick, Sporian Microsystems Collaborate On Device For HIV Screening in Remote Areas

FREDERICK, Md., Nov. 4, 2009 – SAIC-Frederick, Inc., a contractor to the National Cancer Institute, has entered into a three-way research collaboration with Sporian Microsystems Inc. of Lafayette, Colo., and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) centering on a hand-held device for HIV testing that could potentially be used to improve screening in remote areas.

The collaboration is part of the National Cancer Institute’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative, which aims to speed up the translation of basic research into technologies and treatments for patients with cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick, as prime contractor at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, is facilitating ATPI partnerships for the government.

HIV/AIDS continues to have a disproportionate impact on populations in low socioeconomic and rural areas. Therefore, SAIC-Frederick, Sporian, and the FDA will focus on developing a hand-held device to address the prevailing need for a sensitive, point-of-care (POC) assay that can detect evolving strains of HIV early in the course of infection in resource-limited settings. POC technologies that facilitate early diagnosis often lead to improved treatment and facilitate epidemiological surveillance and prevention of diseases that are of particular importance in these areas.

The proposed diagnostic assay is especially suitable for those areas that lack the refrigeration facilities, stable electrical power, highly trained personnel, and clinical laboratory infrastructure required by many current tests and devices.

“For optimal use in health disparity settings, it is also important for POC diagnostic systems to be rapid, simple to use and cost-effective, but not sacrifice diagnostic accuracy,” said Dr. Michael Usrey of Sporian. “The objective of this partnership is to combine the assay expertise of SAIC and FDA with Sporian’s optoelectronics interrogation, signal processing, algorithms and packaging to produce an effective, low-cost POC device.”

About Sporian Microsystems

Sporian Microsystems, Inc. is an aggressive sensors and packaging company. Sporian develops, markets, manufactures, and sells novel sensors, multiple sensor-suites, sensor-subsystems and sensor data-loggers. These systems deliver several key features, including ruggedness, small size, low power consumption and low cost. Sporian’s patented BioOverseer® sensor architecture provides specific and sensitive serum pathogen detection in a portable point-of-care (POC) package. For more information, call 303-516-9075 x19 or visit Sporian’s website at www.sporian.com.

There are more opportunities for contract work at the Fort.  An RFP posted for  S10-072 RFP Package issued 11-6-09.  I know someone out there could do this one.

Today, it was announced that Qiagen Acquired SABiosciences for $90M.  Wow.  I hope to see a few SAB people at Biobeers on Friday.  We can cry in our beer together.

Which reminds me, BioBeers is this Friday at 4:30 PM at the Flying Dog Brewery on Wedgwood Blvd.  Be there or be square.  Our sponsors this time are the Tyler Companies and Talent Works Scientific Staffing.

Do please try to RSVP.  We need to give our Friends at Flying Dog a heads up for how many people to expect and I want to have enough chow.  As always, ImQuest, official wing sponsor of BioBeers, will bring some wings.  We’ll get some sandwiches from Frisco’s, too.

Expecting a full house again.  If anyone has a last minute scientific presentation to give , please let me know.