ITHACA, N.Y. — Rheonix, Inc., a developer of fully automated molecular testing solutions, has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to complete the development of a fully automated self-confirming assay that can simultaneously detect HIV/AIDS antibodies and viral RNA from the AIDS virus in a single specimen. The Rheonix system will simplify HIV testing and eliminate the need for multiple patient visits to health care providers.
The $1.5 Million, 18-month Phase II grant follows the successful completion of the Phase I proof of concept grant in the amount of $189,646. The additional funding will be used to achieve a commercial-ready test for use in the developing world.
“The funding and support from the NIH validates our technology. The broad applicability of a combined HIV screening and confirmatory test will have a significant commercial and social impact that we’re excited to see materialize,” said Tony Eisenhut, president, Rheonix.
The global HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be fueled by the large number of individuals who are unaware they are infected, or who have limited access to advanced diagnostics. Governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s), around the world support various programs to reduce the impact of the disease by encouraging more frequent testing. Current technologies require confirmation of a positive test result by a second, more sensitive and more specific test. In resource-limited settings, the initial and confirmatory tests often rely on simple “dipstick-like” tests that lack the sensitivity and specificity of more sophisticated testing. In addition, the second confirmatory test requires a second visit to a health professional that often does not take place.
Richard Montagna, Ph.D., FACB, senior vice president for scientific and clinical affairs, Rheonix, served as the principal investigator on the grant. “In collaboration with scientists at NYU, our Phase I studies were completed on time and as originally proposed whereby we demonstrated our system’s ability to detect both the antibodies against HIV and the actual viral RNA in a fully automated manner. Being able to provide such a fully automated testing platform will allow resource-limited regions of the world to have their first-ever opportunity to perform simultaneous serological testing and molecular confirmation for HIV.”
The assay will be performed on the Rheonix Chemistry and Reagent Device, or Rheonix CARD®. Once a raw sample is placed on the Rheonix CARD, the automated platform runs with no user intervention through the process of sample extraction, purification, amplification and detection. This eliminates the need for multiple pieces of existing equipment, helping to make the testing process quicker, more efficient, less expensive and less likely to result in human error.
For more information, please visit www.rheonix.com.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
About Rheonix, Inc.:
Rheonix Inc. is committed to improving standards of care by making molecular diagnostics available to more people, in more places, more often. Rheonix, through experienced leadership and creative vision, has developed the EncompassMDx® platform, a highly customizable technology with unmatched versatility and affordability. The platform performs fully automated, complex molecular assays in an easy-to-use and economical format on the Rheonix CARD® cartridge. With both the Rheonix CARD and EncompassMDx family of products, Rheonix is well-positioned to penetrate key molecular diagnostic market sectors, from reference labs through point-of-care and everywhere in between. For more information, visit www.rheonix.com.
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