SALT LAKE CITY - (Business Wire) The Defense Threat Agency (DTRA), on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Assistant Surgeon General, Modernization Directorate (AF/SGR), has awarded Idaho Technology, Inc. $3.3 million to advance development of the FilmArray™ system and pursue Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). CLIA waiver applies to tests that are simple to perform and interpret, such as rapid Strep tests and pregnancy tests, and can be used in virtually any laboratory setting by non-technically trained operators. The FilmArray™ integrates sample preparation, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification, detection and analysis into one easy-to-use system capable of detecting greater than 100 targets in one sample in less than an hour.
Infectious disease continues to be a formidable opponent for both garrison and deployed troops. Currently, no technology for pathogen identification exists that is capable of identifying numerous pathogens simultaneously, has integrated sample preparation, occurs in less than an hour, and is CLIA- waived for use by novice laboratory personnel. “The FilmArray™ system’s ability to test for common and emerging respiratory pathogens with sample to result in one-hour, will provide the military a near real-time force protection capability,” said Kirk Ririe, chief executive of Idaho Technology, Inc.
On March 16, 2009, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory completed a quantitative assessment on existing devices, the current state of biodetection technologies/instrument systems and the technologies that most closely align with AF/SGR Epidemic Outbreak Surveillance (EOS), Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) objectives. The results of this study concluded that Idaho Technology, Inc.’s FilmArray™ is the only technology to meet current DoD and EOS ACTD needs. A total of 164 instrument systems were scored as part of this technology survey, and more than 200 instruments, from over 100 companies, were researched. These were across the breadth of global systems from near commercial off the shelf (COTS) to COTS-based systems.
About Idaho Technology
Idaho Technology, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1990, Idaho Technology licensed the rapid PCR technology from the University of Utah. Through funds from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, the company has created many commercial instruments and reagents for use in research and applied fields. Several of these products, including the LightCycler® Instrument, have been sublicensed to Roche Diagnostics. Researchers, medical technicians, law enforcement officers and soldiers in the field use the company's devices to detect or study disease-causing organisms. For further information, please visit www.idahotech.com.
Idaho Technology, Inc.
Philip Maggi, 202-368-7636
Philip_maggi@idahotech.com
