NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Idaho Technology has received an $8.76 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue developing a diagnostic panel for respiratory viruses, including the H5N1 avian flu, the company said Friday.
Idaho Tech, based in Salt Lake City, said its FilmArray panel will help healthcare workers survey and diagnose influenza strains with pandemic potential as well as “common respiratory viruses.”
The FilmArray, which is still in its prototype phase, is a nucleic acid-based PCR diagnostic platform that can detect DNA and RNA, said Jill Powlick, an Idaho Technology attorney.
Powlick told GenomeWeb Daily News that the device is “a self-contained instrument that does sample prep and amplification of up to 120 targets in a single sealed pouch.”
The funding, which is to be spread over five years, was granted by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease under a Cooperative Research Partnership.
The project also includes collaborators at the Primary Children’s Hospital of Salt Lake City and the Naval Medical Research Unit 3 in Cairo, Egypt, the company said.