NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Life sciences assay developer InDevR is collaborating with researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Influenza Division to develop a microarray assay for use in influenza virus screening.
Boulder, Colo.-based InDevR will work with CDC scientists as a subcontractor to develop a low-density microarray that can screen influenza viruses for genetic reassortment. The company said that the array will enable point-of-service screening to track the emergence of viruses like the swine origin H1N1, in which genetic mixing occurred between influenza viruses that were adapted to different species.
Development of the microarray, which will be coupled with InDevR's ampliPHOX system, is being funded by a two-year, internal CDC grant.
The new collaboration with CDC "will leverage our combined experience with low-density microarray development, CDC's expertise in influenza surveillance, and InDevR's new ampliPHOX colorimetric detection technology," InDevR Co-founder and CEO Kathy Rowlen said in a statement.
Rowlen said that the microarray technology "could greatly enhance global influenza surveillance efforts," which will "provide essential time-critical information for vaccine preparation."
Financial terms of the contract were not immediately available.