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Arc Bio Gets $1.9M NIH Grant to Develop CSF Workflow for Metagenomic Platform

NEW YORK — Arc Bio said this week that it has received a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue development of its research-use-only Galileo One metagenomic next-generation sequencing workflow for the detection and quantification of microbial species in primary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples.

According to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company, Galileo One includes a sample preparation kit and an automated analysis and reporting platform to identify more than 1,300 bacteria, DNA and RNA viruses, fungi, and parasites in liquid samples. It is expected to launch commercially in the second quarter.

With the two-year Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant, Arc Bio will perform analytical and preliminary clinical validation of the workflow in CSF samples, complete development of CSF-specific kit controls, and perform beta testing with collaborators, according to the grant's abstract.

"The product developed under this grant will expand the sample type compatibility of our Galileo platform, which has currently been optimized for plasma," Arc Bio CEO Todd Dickinson said in a statement. "With each new sample type that we bring onboard, we move closer to achieving our goal of empowering all researchers and laboratorians to harness the power of metagenomics in their own facility."