Article published in the Linksbridge Weekly News Roundup on Wednesday 12 May 2021.
Mentions: CARB-X, diagnostics, SpeeDx, chlamydia, gonorrhea, AMR, T2 Biosystems, BARDA, Qpex, drugs
May 12, 2021 — Boston University-led CARB-X announced Monday that it will give Australian diagnostics specialist SpeeDx up to $1.8 million (plus up to $1.9 million in milestones) to develop a one-hour combination test for chlamydia and gonorrhea that also determines the susceptibility of gonorrhea infections to common antibiotics. SpeeDX plans to combine its test with a portable, battery-operated device from Britain’s QuantuMDx, making the diagnostic ready for “remote or low-resource settings around the world,” the press release said.
Meanwhile, former CARB-X grant recipient T2 Biosystems announced last week that it has modified its existing contract with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to accelerate the development of several diagnostic panels to detect bloodborne antibiotic-resistant threats. Those panels include the Massachusetts company’s T2Resistance—the first test to graduate from CARB-X’s portfolio into successful commercialization.
In other antimicrobial resistance news, another BARDA partner, San Diego-based Qpex Biopharma, announced Wednesday that it has dosed the first participant in a Phase 1 study of its ORAvance ultra-broad-spectrum oral beta-lactamase inhibitor (co-administered with beta-lactam antibiotics) against drug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections.
MORE INFORMATION:
CARB-X press release
T2 Biosystems press release
First CARB-X diagnostic approved (November 20, 2019)
Qpex press release