INFECTIOUS DISEASE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

[ HUMAN     [ ANIMAL     [ AGRICULTURE     [ ENVIRONMENT     [ PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
PREVENTION          DIAGNOSIS          TREATMENT

Research & Development

• Hygea identifies market needs and opportunities and then using its depth of in-house patented research, develops practical solutions for licensing to established market licensees.
  

Scientific Capabilities

cost efficient rapid diagnostic screening systems for multiple infectious diseases and/or infections, with real-time, point of care detection for the human (infant/adult), animal markets, agri-environment and pandemic preparedness markets

innovative methods of treatment of infectious diseases

reliable preventive techniques to help inhibit the transfer of disease from animal to animal, animal to person or person to person

 

Development of multi-purpose user-friendly, point of care diagnostic test kit platform which will be adaptable and versatile in use and will provide rapid and accurate diagnosis of important and common diseases as identified for on the spot decisions.

The objective is to develop a rapid (under 2 minutes) Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostic test platform for common and important diseases in rural and regional health centers in the developing world.

The success factor will ultimately be the monitoring of reductions in antibiotic use and unnecessary deaths due to infections in both animals and humans.

Development of a reliable and reproducible POC test platform which meets the gold standard target specifications and sensitivities.

1. Priority 1 focus- antibody based

2. Priority 2 focus- antigen based

3. Priority 3 focus- semi-quantitative in analysis

Description of Functionality:

The test kit platform screens for the presence of multiple infectious diseases in the same test from the same sample, and can be completed in the presence of the patient, without the use of a laboratory. Each infectious disease can be identified separately and distinctly and a built-in procedural Control point validates the test functionality. This reduces the assessment time for the practitioner -currently ranging from 1 to 4 days - to an elapsed time of minutes. This POC test platform can be used with minimal requirements for technology or equipment, using only a few drops of blood, plasma or serum. This platform has potential adaptation into animal, agriculture and environmental sectors. Given the importance of animals in the economy of developing countries, this may be an additional significant future use for this platform. E.g. Enquiries have been received from China via a Hong Kong pharmaceutical company for the development of a rapid POC test platform for swine blue ear disease, reproductive and respiratory illnesses and from Hong Kong for a POC test for the high performance equine sector to identify multiple strains of herpes for use prior to the movement or upon arrival of horses.

 

The platform will be used to create highly differentiated "point of care" assessment. Using a single sample, this platform can screen for single or multiple diseases/infections in the same test area. This includes the capability to test for active diseases whether fungus, vector, virus or bacteria derived or any combination thereof. The platform itself is the size and thickness of 3 layered credit cards - no PC or external equipment is necessary for its use. The platform is also field disposable (it can be burned with a match) and is a "green" product with no plastics or electricity required for use or disposal. No additional equipment or refrigeration is required. It will be effective over a wide range of temperatures and has an extensive shelf life. It will be possible to pre-manufacture the test platform in bulk and subsequently insert the desired antibodies/antigens for a particular test combination required for a specific region or adapt for the testing needs of a natural disaster.

 

The platform can be both qualitative as well as semi-quantitative. The platform currently is designed for use with whole blood, plasma/serum samples but will be expanded to use other sample matrices such as urine, saliva or solids as applicable. The platform is designed to use proven antibodies and antigens. It should be emphasized that the platform can be used to test for any combination of time tested antibodies or antigens in the same sample. The test is user-friendly and is designed for use by either medically trained personnel, veterinarians and their assistants or minimally trained community health workers. The platform will be extremely cost competitive, when compared with existing time and resource consuming laboratory testing practices. It provides the ability for care givers in developing countries to make a rapid bacteriological or viral diagnosis at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches. Its versatility and adaptability is evidenced the number of applications already identified as possible by the scientific team.