SpeeDx, Eveleigh, Australia, and the QuantuMDx Group, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, are collaborating with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Geneva, to assess the feasibility of developing low-cost, point-of-care (POC) tests for common sexually transmitted infections. SpeeDx will use its proprietary PlexPCR technology to develop multiplex tests for common STIs, including gonorrhea and Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen), to be run on the QuantuMDx Q-POC device.
Elisa Mokany, PhD, SpeeDx.
“We are excited by this collaboration with QuantumDx and the potential to expand access to high-quality testing options to areas of the world that really need it,” says Elisa Mokany, PhD, cofounder and chief technology officer at SpeeDx. “Patients around the globe are already benefiting from the clinically relevant information provided by SpeeDx tests, but we are cognizant that the current platforms and processes in use to run these tests do not readily translate to all regions of the world.”
The QuantuMDx Q-POC instrument is a battery-operated, microfluidics-based, sample-to-answer system for low-cost molecular testing using rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by microarray detection.
“QuantuMDx is always looking to expand the portfolio of diagnostic tests available on the Q-POC platform, and this collaboration with SpeeDx is an obvious choice given the proven compatibility of their robust chemistry across a range of platform technologies” says Jonathan O’Halloran, chief scientific officer at QuantuMDx. “We have a common goal to enhance the standard of healthcare around the globe, and this partnership will accelerate our efforts and combine our lab-standard point-of-care device with SpeeDx’s world-class test technology.”
For further information, visit the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the QuantuMDx Group, and SpeeDx.
Featured image: Fluorescent antibody-stained microphotograph depicting a positive result testing for the presence of gonorrhea. Image courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
