NEW YORK – BugSeq said this week that it has been awarded a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services to develop an artificial intelligence-powered reporting tool for clinical metagenomics data.
Under the contract, worth $747,500 over one year according to FederalCompass.com, scientists from BugSeq and BARDA's Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures (DRIVe) will use machine learning tools to analyze metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) data to provide actionable reporting of pathogens from clinical specimens.
BugSeq will develop and evaluate these tools with a focus on regulatory compliance, including deployment in real-world settings to establish their performance. The company said that it hopes to enable rapid mNGS data interpretation, improve accuracy over existing bioinformatics approaches, and help drive mNGS technology toward routine diagnostic use in hospitals.
This is the second BARDA DRIVe award that BugSeq has received. In May 2022, it said that it was awarded a contract from the agency to develop a next-generation sequencing-based test for all respiratory RNA viruses.
Earlier this year, Vancouver, B.C.-based BugSeq and Oxford Nanopore Technologies announced a partnership to develop automated analysis solutions for rapid pathogen identification and antimicrobial resistance characterization.