Nanogen wins contract to develop avian flu diagnostic

Nanogen, a US-based developer of advanced diagnostic products, has won a US$4.5 million contract from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a multi-analyte point-of-care (POC) diagnostic assay for Influenza.

The assay will strengthen the US Government's readiness for an influenza pandemic. The development program is partnered with HX Diagnostics, of California, which will commercialise the product upon approval.

The goal is to develop a low cost, high sensitivity POC immunoassay that simultaneously detects Influenza Type A, Type B, seasonal flu (H1N1 and H3N2) and avian flu (H5N1) in a simple to use format.

The Nanogen product under development is a third generation high sensitivity lateral flow test designed to be accurate, highly portable, and simple to use yet with a cost similar to current influenza POC tests sold today. The technology underlying the design builds upon that used in Nanogen's current cardiac infarction products, which are capable of delivering results at the point of care in as little as 15 minutes. The test format is also designed to be readily adapted to detect new strains of the influenza virus as they emerge.

Once commercialised, health professionals could use this test to diagnose seasonal influenza and as an 'early warning system' to identify individuals with typical flu symptoms who may harbour a potentially pandemic subtype, giving public health officials early notice of the emergence of a new subtype.

Also, as it will be in general use for seasonal flu testing, it would be immediately available to deploy to rapidly in the event of a pandemic.