Chembio to Collaborate with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz to Develop Point-of-Care Zika Diagnostic Tests for Brazil
7 Mar 2016Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., a leader in point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, today announced plans to collaborate with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz for the development of POC Zika diagnostic tests for Brazil.
Bio-Manguinhos is the unit of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) responsible for development and production of vaccines, diagnostics and biopharmaceuticals, primarily to meet the demands of Brazil's national public health system. Over the last 12 years, Chembio and Bio-Manguinhos have collaborated on a number of POC diagnostic tests, including HIV, Syphilis, and Leishmania.
Under a $550,000 initial grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Chembio will use its patented Dual Path Platform (DPP®) technology for the development of a stand-alone POC assay to detect Zika virus, as well as a multiplex POC assay to simultaneously detect Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya viruses. In addition, Chembio will add Zika to the POC DPP® Fever Panel Assay that is currently under development through a separate grant from the Paul G. Allen Ebola Program.
Javan Esfandiari, Chief Science and Technology Officer of Chembio commented, "The patented design of Chembio's DPP®technology, which allows separate detection of IgM and IgG antibodies, is ideally-suited for the development of point-of-care assays for Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya. We are currently testing the DPP® Zika Assay, multiplex DPP®Zika/Dengue/Chikungunya Assay, and DPP® Micro Reader with clinical specimens from Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Malaysia and the United States. Preliminary testing results are highly encouraging and our ongoing collaborations with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz and the global scientific community are extremely helpful as we move toward a rapid and affordable solution."
John Sperzel, Chembio's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to work with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz toward a solution for detecting Zika virus and related febrile illnesses in Brazil. Since receiving an initial grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, we have developed prototype DPP® Zika and DPP® Zika/Dengue/Chikungunya Assays and we hope to receive additional funding to accelerate the development and testing. It is essential that government, industry, and regulatory agencies work together to address the global health emergencies posed by emerging diseases such as Zika virus."