Acacia Research Corporation announced that
the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a one-year, $2.2
million contract to CombiMatrix for further development of its
microarray technologies for a multipathogen- and chemical-detection
system.
Under previously funded programs with the DoD, CombiMatrix has
demonstrated that its products can simultaneously detect toxins,
viruses, and bacteria using its semiconductor-based microarrays. Unique
to this platform is its “on chip” electrochemical
detection process, which eliminates the need for complex, expensive,
and less-portable optical instrumentation. These systems are currently
in use at several military and government laboratories as well as
civilian installations.
“The events in the UK, in June, underscore the need
for better technologies and products to address the constant threat of
terrorist activities. Although the terrorist activity utilized
explosives, the threat of chemical or biological weapons
persists,” stated Dr. David Danley, Director of Homeland
Security and Defense Programs at CombiMatrix. “We are pleased
that our government feels that our technology has value in addressing
these concerns. Our products are being designed to address biothreat
agents as well as infectious diseases of public-health concern,
including influenza A and the ‘Bird flu’ subtype
along with other upper-respiratory infections.”
Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of CombiMatrix, said,
“CombiMatrix’s work with the DoD to address
infectious diseases fits nicely with our strategy of developing
products for the molecular-diagnostics and the personalized-medicine
market segments. We have already launched several microarray-based
diagnostics products addressing diseases like childhood abnormalities
and hematological cancers. We continue to develop additional products,
including those being funded by the US DoD, to ensure a broad and
integrated suite of tools to detect and to identify threats to the
health of humans and animals regardless of their origin.”