BioFluidica is Awarded NIH Grant Funding through the Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Research Consortium for an At-Home Device Using Breakthrough Technology in the Fight Against COVID-19

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BioFluidica, a privately held biotechnology company in conjunction with the University of Kansas, today announced they have been awarded a grant from the Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Research Consortium on behalf of the National Institutes of Health's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx Tech) program. The grant is in support of BioFluidica's single liquid biopsy platform, LiquidScan to expand the supply of precise, handheld, at-home COVID-19 testing devices.

LiquidScan^®, BioFluidica's next-generation diagnostic platform, is a clinically validated, minimally invasive procedure applied to many diseases, including six different cancer types, prenatal diagnostics, stroke, and infectious diseases. Whereas a CT or MRI scan surveys the whole body to detect diseases, LiquidScan can search a blood sample for rare biomarkers in the bloodstream, such as circulating tumor cells, cell-free DNA, and exosomes. The platform, expanded to saliva sample diagnostics, can be used for point-of-care testing in hospitals, CLIA labs, research institutes, and now in the comfort of home.

"A self-administered rapid test produces confidential results at home and in minutes, while laboratory tests take longer and at increased cost," said Steven A. Soper, Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer of Biofluidica, Kansas University's Foundation Distinguished Professor in Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering, and director of the Center for BioModular Multi-scale Systems for Precision Medicine. "The hope is that easier access to tests and faster, accurate test results will make frequent testing more desirable and encourage people to protect themselves and others in the community."

For COVID-19 testing, as well as other infectious diseases, BioFluidica's LiquidScan generates results in 15 minutes, does not require cold storage, and enables improved commercial and home diagnostics at lower costs. The leap in technological advantages provided by BioFluidica's method was made possible by developing a patented microfluidic chip. This chip offers efficient capture, release, enumeration, and molecular analysis of viral particles, such as SARS-CoV-2. BioFluidica's technology allows high-throughput and low-cost manufacturing, which results in low test costs that can be readily covered by insurance and is suitable for large-scale screening.

The RADx initiative was launched in April 2020 to speed innovation in the development, commercialization, and implementation of technologies for COVID-19 testing. The RADx initiative partners with federal agencies, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Department of Defense, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The initiative has four programs: RADx Tech, RADx Advanced Technology Platforms, RADx Underserved Populations, and RADx Radical. In an April 2021 NIH news release that described the program he leads, Bruce Tromberg, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering said, "NIH's RADx Tech program has turbocharged the development, scale-up, and deployment of powerful testing platforms. Accessible screening and surveillance testing will continue to help the community manage COVID while providing essential new capabilities for responding to future pathogens, variants, and other diseases."

BioFluidica and Dr. Soper's KU group are planning production with two commercial companies experienced in large-scale medical device manufacturing to produce the chip consumables and the handheld units. Users will be able to buy cost effectivetests and the reader, which can be reused many times over. The project will require emergency use authorization from the FDA. The aim is to begin production and distribution in 2021.

BioFluidica received $250,000 in funding through MBArC from the prestigious RADx Tech program. The project is for the development of non-traditional viral screening approaches, such as biological or physiological markers, new analytical platforms with novel chemistries or engineering, rapid detection strategies, point-of-care devices, and home-based testing technologies. MBARC, in turn, is supported in part with federal funds from the National Institutes of Health, under Grant No. U01HL152410.

About University of Kansas and MBArC

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. The university's mission is to lift students and society by educating leaders, building healthy communities and making discoveries that change the world. The KU News Service is the central public relations office for the Lawrence campus. For more information, please visit http://www.ku.edu/.

The Midwest Biomedical Accelerator Consortium (MBArC) was established in 2019 as a 4-year, $3.9 million partnership between the University of Missouri, Columbia (lead)/ University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), Kansas City and the National Institutes of Health Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (NIH REACH). The goal of MBArC is to provide funding, training, and education to academic researchers to accelerate the transition of discoveries originating from research labs into products that improve health. For more information, please visit www.medicine.missouri.edu/offices-programs/midwest-biomedical-accelerator-consortium.

About BioFluidica

BioFluidica is a privately held biotechnology company that has developed a revolutionary liquid biopsy platform allowing for disease detection, all from a simple blood test. The Biofluidica platform is able to precisely capture and isolate disease biomarkers, such as Circulating Tumor Cells, CTC's, and has been clinically validated. Their ability to scan blood for the first signs of a disease, finding the rarest biomarkers with unmatched sensitivity, means fulfilling the promise of a true liquid biopsy. For more information please visit https://www.biofluidica.com.   

Media Contact:
Julie Ferguson
[email protected]
(312) 385-0098

SOURCE BioFluidica

Related Links

https://www.biofluidica.com/