DARPA Awards MBio Diagnostics Phase II Contract for Acute Infection Point-of-Care System

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MBio Diagnostics, Inc.., a company leading a new era in rapid, on-the-spot clinical diagnostics and sample testing, today announced a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) entitled, “Point-of-care Monitoring of the Host-Pathogen Interaction During Infection.” The Phase II DARPA contract builds on a successful Phase I program focused on development of a portable, multiplexed immunoassay system that rapidly delivers a panel of host response biomarker results. The DARPA project complements MBio’s NIH-funded program entitled “Point-of-Care Prognostic Tool for Sepsis,” which kicked off in September 2017. The NIH program is for development of a prognostic tool to aid in stratifying sepsis patients with highest risk of mortality. The combined value of these contracts, if all phases and options are awarded, is $1.5 million. Both programs are in collaboration with Dr. Hector Wong, Director of the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Infection and tissue damage lead to release of signaling proteins into the bloodstream of the patient. An ability to rapidly analyze panels of these so-called host response markers can enable new diagnostic and prognostic approaches that can potentially lead to significantly more effective patient management during the time-critical phase of acute infection. According to MBio CEO Chris Myatt, “Managing acute infections accurately and quickly is a critical task in the healthcare system. MBio brings a unique approach to testing that provides multiple, high-sensitivity quantitative results in a simple, point-of-care device. Our goal is to help transform the management of severely ill individuals by delivering biomarker panel results in minutes in the emergency department or intensive care unit, rather than waiting hours for laboratory tests.” Dr. Myatt added on the Cincinnati collaboration, “Adapting high-value content, such as derived from Dr. Wong’s outstanding investigations of pediatric and adult sepsis patients, provides unique solutions to very challenging healthcare problems.”

About MBio Diagnostics

MBio Diagnostics is leading a new era in rapid, on-the-spot clinical diagnostics and sample testing. Our portable MBio Array System and disposable cartridges enable low-cost, rapid answers in 1 to 20 minutes. MBio aims to be the platform of choice for leading providers and users of clinical and analytical testing services in all market segments including: medical, veterinary, environmental, food, agricultural and military. www.mbiodx.com

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