Cambridge, MA, 12th March 2015 (download press release .pdf)
Aldatu Biosciences, a novel diagnostics platform company focused on improving HIV patient care globally, today announced it has been awarded a Direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for approximately $1,500,000 over two years.
Supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this SBIR award will fund the advancement of Aldatu’s proprietary PANDAA™ genotyping platform to a clinical diagnostic test for the sensitive detection of drug-resistant HIV in resource-limited healthcare settings.
The funding will allow Aldatu to develop the first diagnostic product for HIV drug resistance that is specifically designed to meet the clinical and economic requirements of low- and middle-income countries. The product will be used to detect clinically-actionable drug resistance mutations in patients failing antiretroviral therapy and inform cost-effective treatment decisions.
“The NIAID has placed a clear emphasis on the importance of tests to monitor resistance to HIV medications in resource-poor settings by including it as a high-priority area of research interest, and we are extremely pleased that the grant reviewers have recognized the potential of the PANDAA™ technology to address this global health need,” said David Raiser, CEO of Aldatu.
“The PANDAA™ platform was developed in the hopes that it might one day improve access to optimal HIV care to patients around the world. These funds provided by the NIAID will allow Aldatu to make important strides in achieving that goal.” Dr. Iain MacLeod, Aldatu’s Chief Science Officer
The Direct-to-Phase II SBIR award mechanism allows small businesses with advanced technology (i.e. completed Phase-I-type R&D) to move directly into a Phase-II-type R&D that tests the functional viability of a prototype according to scientific methods and potential for commercial development. “This award speaks to the strength of the body of existing PANDAA™ data and reflects a high scientific confidence in the technical feasibility of PANDAA™-based diagnostics,” added Raiser.
Aldatu was also recently named a $250,000 winner of the 2014 Verizon Powerful Answers Award in the Healthcare category, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Innovation Lab, the MassChallenge Accelerator, and the MassCONNECT program of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio).
More information:
Aldatu Biosciences
Aldatu Biosciences is a Cambridge, MA-based, seed-funded biotechnology company developing innovative diagnostic tools based on its proprietary genotyping platform, PANDAA™. Aldatu is committed to commercializing products that address diagnostic challenges in global health, primarily in HIV and other infectious diseases, and which improve both the quality of patient care and healthcare cost-efficiency. Inquiries can be sent to change@aldatubio.com.
About the NIAID
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov