NEW YORK — FYR Diagnostics said today that it has been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant worth up to $618,086 to develop a microRNA-based assay for the detection of acquired epilepsy.
Acquired epilepsy is a form of the neurological disorder that results from other conditions such as stroke, infections, and traumatic brain injury.
With the two-year Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant, FYR will perform studies in animal models to determine whether plasma miRNAs can serve as biomarkers of acquired epilepsy caused by brain injury — known as post-traumatic epilepsy — using an assay based on a proprietary isothermal chemistry called ultrasensitive DNA amplification reaction, or UDAR.
FYR President Sarj Patel said in a statement that the Missoula, Montana-based firm intends to ultimately commercialize the assay.