Imagine a tricorder-like device that could detect Mers, (the recently remerging coronavirus) in a patient before they step on a plane. British medical device developer QuantuMDx (QMDx) www.quantumdx.com and the German life sciences company SCIENION www.scienion.com have partnered to commercialize QMDx’s nanowire biosensor to be deployed around the world to help in health, food safety, and in possible bioterrorism situations.
QMDx is a multinational developer headquartered in the United Kingdom with subsidiary operations in the U.S and Singapore. QMDx’s highly multiplexed nanowire array is a component of QMDx’s flagship product Q-POC™ a handheld molecular diagnostic device. Q-POC can help overburdened healthcare systems worldwide with molecular diagnostics at a fraction of the cost for traditional testing. Commercialization of the device is expected in 2016.
SCIENION AG and its U.S subsidiary SCIENION US provides systems and services for the contact free printing of biological and chemical agents. SCIENTON’s ultra-low volume liquid handling technologies are able to transfer biological material onto QMDx’s novel biosensor. Each nanowire in the array is printed with molecular probes with hundreds of nanowires in each silicon biosensor chip.
A long standing relationship was cemented when QMDx purchased SCIENION’s sciFLEXARRAYER SX and will continue to grow as both companies embark on a number of development projects that are expected to take the biosensor characterization from research and development to mass manufacturing.
In another exciting move, QMDx is exploring licensing opportunities for their rapid DNA extraction kit Q-PREP to be exhibited at BIO 2015 in Philadelphia on June 15-18 2015. Q-PREP is a next generation DNA extraction technology set to dramatically shorten and simplify the molecular work flow for PCR, sequencing, and other molecular processes.
The technology is being deployed in next generation spin columns to access the predicted $1 billion market in 2018 for DNA spin columns. CSO Jonathan O’Halloran explains, “Next generation spin columns using Q-PREP technology are simple to use which enables laboratories to optimize their time and resources by creating a more efficient workflow.”
QMDx Business Development Manager, Dr. Jonathan Peat at BIO 2015 will be at the UK Pavilion in Philadelphia or can be contacted by email at jonathan.peat@quantumdx.com to discuss Q-PREP licensing opportunities or Q-POC development.