July 1, 2008 College News - Diagnostic product developer Nanogen, Inc. has been awarded a new $10.4 million, two-year contract from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a multi-analyte molecular diagnostic test for influenza. The Medical College of Wisconsin and HandyLab Inc. are subcontractors and will partner with Nanogen to develop the test.

 

The contract will be used to develop a fast molecular test that simultaneously detects and differentiates Influenza Type A, Influenza Type B, seasonal flu strains, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). It provides for a secondary “reflex” test for avian flu strains to be available for samples that are determined to be positive for Flu A but negative for seasonal flu. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under one year of age.

 

The test is expected to be significantly more sensitive than current rapid flu tests and conducted in less than half the time it takes to run current molecular tests.

 

“Success in this project will significantly advance multiplex PCR (polymerase chain reaction) use in the clinical laboratory and provide a unique hands-off solution for rapid, sensitive and specific detection of seasonal respiratory viruses and pandemic influenza,” said Kelly Henrickson, MD, Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases), who has a longstanding partnership with Nanogen and will help develop the test. 

 

Creation of the test will incorporate assay development that Nanogen has worked on in cooperation with MCW as part of an NIH grant for multiplexed infectious disease diagnostics. It will also utilize MCW’s new Midwest Respiratory Virus Program.

 

Each year, five percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population is affected by the influenza virus, with approximately 36,000 deaths caused by the infection. Health care agencies, like the CDC, are concerned about the possibility of a deadly subtype, like avian flu, rapidly emerging and causing a pandemic.