11/28/06
Chembio Diagnostics Inc, Medford, NY, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have joined forces to develop a rapid combination test for syphilis using Chembio’s Dual Path Platform technology and the CDC’s patented Syphilis antigens.
The two hope that their cooperative research and development agreement will produce a test that will detect both treponemal and nontreponemal antibodies in the same device and can be used as a screening and confirmatory test in a point of care setting.
The CDC will be responsible for testing procedures and clinical trials and will proceed in accordance with Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization requirements. Chembio will handle the manufacture of prototype devices.
The development of a rapid, point of care test that combines the sensitivity of a screening test with the specificity of a confirmatory test could assist clinicians in providing appropriate treatment during an initial clinic visit.