Home > Press > QuantuMDx announce prototype handheld lab for 15 minute malaria diagnosis and drug resistance testing
![]() |
CEO Elaine Warburton OBE shows QuantuMDx's first prototype disposable handheld malaria diagnostic and drug resistance lab to Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science at the EU Innovation Conference ©EC/CE |
Abstract:
This World Malaria Day, British biotech QuantuMDx announces the first prototype of their pioneering disposable handheld lab for 15 minute malaria diagnosis and drug resistance testing. A low cost disposable cartridge is inserted into QuantuMDx's universal reader Q-POC™ to provide testing for a few dollars at the patient's side.
Rapid drug resistance testing will enable frontline healthworkers to prescribe the right drug, first time. QuantuMDx anticipates that this device will help to stem the rising tide of drug resistance by providing affordable and accurate testing for the estimated 200 million people who contract malaria each year, and maybe even play a supporting role in malaria elimination.
QuantuMDx's diagnostic technology is being harnessed to tackle malaria by the European Union FP7 funded NanoMal consortium led by St George's, University of London. This prototype brings the consortium one step closer to clinical trials, expected later this year in Gabon. These trials will benefit from the expertise of consortium partners Universitat Tubingen and the Karolinska Institutet.
As the World Health Organization (WHO) urges donors, organizations and institutions worldwide to "Invest in the Future" to defeat malaria, QuantuMDx utilized a novel approach to gather additional funds for their upcoming clinical trial. An Indiegogo campaign crowdfunded over $18,000 for the further development and production of assays for the trial.
Jonathan O'Halloran, co-founder and CSO said "After six years of development, it is rewarding to finally hold in my hand a prototype of our disposable test cartridge. This device represents a significant piece in the puzzle for my vision of a global network- an infectious disease monitoring system, wherein GPS data and real-time DNA sequence data are immediately analysed and used to track emerging new infectious disease threats and drug resistance.
Starting with malaria, this system will benefit not just the patient but also epidemiologists and public health officials, as real-time identification of novel pathogens and drug resistance mutations will allow for the mobilization of resources including the correct anti-infective to the exact site that these diseases originate. This will be significantly faster than relying on traditional methods of identifying & monitoring these diseases."
####
About QuantuMDx Group
QuantuMDx Group is one of the most exciting biotechs to emerge from the UK. Their robust handheld laboratory, which reads and sequences DNA and converts it into binary code using a tiny computer chip, is ideally suited to help address the humanitarian health burden by offering molecular diagnostics at a fraction of the price of traditional testing.
Rapidly & accurately detecting and monitoring emerging drug resistance of infectious diseases such as malaria, TB and HIV will enable health professionals to immediately prescribe the most effective drug against that disease. Once the device has passed regulatory approval, it will be available in developed countries for infectious disease testing and rapid cancer profiling and, in time, be available over-the-counter at pharmacies.
Headquartered at The International Centre for Life in Newcastle, UK with subsidiaries in the USA (Chattanooga) and Asia (A*Star’s Genome Institute of Singapore), QuantuMDx was co-founded by Elaine Warburton, inventor and CSO Jonathan O’Halloran and CFO Julian Warburton. Fellow Board members include CMO Professor Sir John Burn, COO Dr Sam Whitehouse and President of QuantuMDx USA Paul Fitzpatrick. Prof Sanjeev Krishna chairs the Infectious Disease Advisory Committee.
QuantuMDx has received numerous awards for innovation and is the recipient of a number of large grants from The UK’s Technology Strategy Board (TB diagnostic), The Biomedical Catalyst Fund (tumour profiler), NHS NIHR’s Invention for Innovation Program (DNA sequencer) and the European Union (“NanoMal” malaria diagnostic).
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
United Kingdom:
Market Keeper's House
International Centre for Life
Times Square
Newcastle, NE1 4EP, UK
Singapore:
16 Raffles Quay
#33-03, Hong Leong Building
Singapore 048581
USA:
25 E. Main Street, Suite 205
Chattanooga, TN 37408
Copyright © QuantuMDx Group
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press |
News and information
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
Products
NEI Corporation introduces UV-Protect Technology to NANOMYTE® Coating Line April 9th, 2018
STMicroelectronics Peps Up Booming Social-Fitness Scene with Smart Motion Sensors for Better Accuracy, Longer Battery Life, and Faster Time to Market January 2nd, 2017
Cutting-edge nanotechnologies are breaking into industries November 18th, 2016
Nanomedicine
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
Remote-control shoots laser at nano-gold to turn on cancer-killing immune cells April 20th, 2018
Announcements
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |