FREDERICK, Md., Nov. 4, 2009 – SAIC-Frederick, Inc., a contractor to the National Cancer Institute, has entered into a three-way research collaboration with Sporian Microsystems Inc. of Lafayette, Colo., and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) centering on a hand-held device for HIV testing that could potentially be used to improve screening in remote areas.
The collaboration is part of the National Cancer Institute’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative, which aims to speed up the translation of basic research into technologies and treatments for patients with cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick, as prime contractor at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, is facilitating ATPI partnerships for the government.
HIV/AIDS continues to have a disproportionate impact on populations in low socioeconomic and rural areas. Therefore, SAIC-Frederick, Sporian, and the FDA will focus on developing a hand-held device to address the prevailing need for a sensitive, point-of-care (POC) assay that can detect evolving strains of HIV early in the course of infection in resource-limited settings. POC technologies that facilitate early diagnosis often lead to improved treatment and facilitate epidemiological surveillance and prevention of diseases that are of particular importance in these areas.
The proposed diagnostic assay is especially suitable for those areas that lack the refrigeration facilities, stable electrical power, highly trained personnel, and clinical laboratory infrastructure required by many current tests and devices.
“For optimal use in health disparity settings, it is also important for POC diagnostic systems to be rapid, simple to use and cost-effective, but not sacrifice diagnostic accuracy,” said Dr. Michael Usrey of Sporian. “The objective of this partnership is to combine the assay expertise of SAIC and FDA with Sporian’s optoelectronics interrogation, signal processing, algorithms and packaging to produce an effective, low-cost POC device.”
About Sporian Microsystems Sporian Microsystems, Inc. is an aggressive sensors and packaging company. Sporian develops, markets, manufactures, and sells novel sensors, multiple sensor-suites, sensor-subsystems and sensor data-loggers. These systems deliver several key features, including ruggedness, small size, low power consumption and low cost. Sporian’s patented BioOverseer® sensor architecture provides specific and sensitive serum pathogen detection in a portable point-of-care (POC) package. For more information, call 303-516-9075 x19 or visit Sporian’s website at www.sporian.com.
About SAIC-Frederick SAIC-Frederick, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a Fortune 500® company, is the operations and technical support contractor for the National Cancer Institute’s research and development center in Frederick, Md. This is a national laboratory dedicated to rapidly translating basic research into new technologies for diagnosing, treating, and preventing cancer and AIDS. SAIC-Frederick maintains a full suite of advanced technologies in areas such as nanotechnology, genomics and imaging; operates the federal government’s drug and vaccine manufacturing facilities; operates the high-performance Advanced Biomedical Computing Center; and supports more than 300 clinical trials for patients in the United States and around the world.
Information about the NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative can be found at ATPIhome.com
Frank Blanchard (Contractor) Director, Public Affairs SAIC-Frederick, Inc. National Cancer Institute at Frederick Post Office Box B Frederick, Maryland 21702 Phone: (301) 846-1893 Fax: (301) 846-1116 blanchardf@mail.nih.gov www.saic-frederick.com
