
Autonomous ²ÊÉñvlllÕù°Ôs Incorporated (AMDI) has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech award of up to $5.3m in financing to develop a fast polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system.
PCR is used to amplify a sample of DNA. It usually takes approximately an hour to complete and is commonly used for lab-based disease detection.
AMDI’s point-of-care PCR system is expected to detect up to 32 targets per sample in less than ten minutes. The company is also developing a fast PCR system for the detection of multiple respiratory viruses, including influenza A and B, (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2.
The use of point-of-care diagnostics has increased following the Covid-19 pandemic. The is expected to grow to be worth $38.5bn in 2030, as per a . The infectious disease in vitro diagnostics market subsection is expected to be worth $14.2bn in the same period.
Multiple companies have developed point-of-care testing systems for a variety of purposes. Last month, Roche signed a definitive agreement to acquire LumiraDx’s point-of-care technology. Roche will pay a purchase price of $289m for the acquisition, along with an additional payment of up to $55m to fund operations of the point-of-care technology platform business until the acquisition closes. The deal is expected to close by mid-2024.
In December 2023, Ad Astra Diagnostics received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its point-of-care QScout rapid-result haematology system. The solution can measure white blood cell counts (WBCs) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, as well as differentiate the number and per cent of five types of mature WBCs, along with immature granulocytes.

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By GlobalDataThe current NIH funding is the second one received by the company to develop its PCR point-of-care system. In April 2023, the company received $1.2m in financing from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of NIH and responsible for disbursing the RADx Tech award.