Enable Biosciences Awarded NIH/NIAID Grant to Advance Minimally-Invasive Multiplex Food Allergy Test Panel

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Sep 20, 2018, 08:45 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Enable Biosciences Inc. has been awarded a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant for $223,806 to accelerate development of its minimally invasive, ultrasensitive, and specific blood tests for food allergy.

"Food allergies affect up to 9% of the US population, with over 30,000 reactions per year requiring emergency care. For many, especially children, allergic reactions are serious and life-threatening," said David Seftel, MD, MBA, Enable's CEO. "Mitigating and preventing adverse allergic events require accurate diagnosis to direct dietary avoidance, connect patients with novel treatments and to monitor response to treatment."

While existing allergy tests promise a molecular-level analysis of the allergic response, none simultaneously detect many allergies at once while displaying high sensitivity- which is key to detecting allergy early.

"Current tests either detect only one allergy marker at a time at high cost and require collection of large sample volumes or detect many markers at once with a loss of sensitivity. We plan to develop a new high-performance test that doesn't cut corners," added Cheng-ting "Jason" Tsai, PhD, Enable's Chief Technology Officer.

Enable Biosciences is developing a test that detects many allergy markers at once without sacrificing quality. Since it only requires a droplet of blood, it may also improve testing compliance in children.

"The research funded by this grant will produce an enhanced test panel for 80% of the most common food allergens, such as milk, peanut, and shellfish," explained Jesse Cortez, PhD, Senior Scientist at Enable.

The project expands on work between Enable scientists and Stanford co-investigators Stephen Galli, MD and Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD.

About Enable Biosciences: Enable Biosciences is a San Francisco-based diagnostics company commercializing licensed technology from UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Enable develops ultrasensitive and multiplex immunoassays to help diagnose diseases at their earliest and most effectively treatable stages. For more about Enable, visit www.enablebiosciences.com. For press inquiries, email [email protected] or call Peter Robinson, PhD (415-967-1460).

Research reported in this press release is supported by the NIAID of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1 R43 AI141118-01. Content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

SOURCE Enable Biosciences Inc