Idaho Technology, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) to develop tests for multiple flu strains on the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS).
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Idaho Technology, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) to develop tests for multiple flu strains on the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS). The JBAIDS instrument, already widely deployed across the globe, and the suite of flu tests that will result from this effort will be used to test military personnel and their families for Influenza A and B, and subtypes of A.
“Testing for infectious disease such as the seasonal flu allows JBAIDS to move into the clinical diagnostics arena. This allows us to provide increased value beyond identifying biological warfare agents of concern to our troops”
This latest initiative will replace the CDC Swine flu detection panel on JBAIDS for diagnostic detection of the 2009 novel influenza A (H1N1) that was granted by the Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA in August 2009.
Traditional flu testing can take more than 48-hours to diagnose using culture methods; the JBAIDS expanded influenza panel will provide results for six flu targets in less than an hour. This effort may lead to the development of additional infectious disease assays for JBAIDS.
“Testing for infectious disease such as the seasonal flu allows JBAIDS to move into the clinical diagnostics arena. This allows us to provide increased value beyond identifying biological warfare agents of concern to our troops,” said Todd Ritter, chief development officer of Idaho Technology.
About JBAIDS
In 2003, Idaho Technology, Inc. was awarded the JBAIDS contract. The program was created to provide rapid positive identification and diagnostic confirmation of biological warfare agents and other pathogens of operational concern across all four branches of the U.S. Military. The instrument is configured to support reliable, quick and specific identification of biological agents from various clinical specimens and environmental samples.
About Idaho Technology
Idaho Technology, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1990, Idaho Technology licensed the rapid PCR technology from the University of Utah. Through funds from the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, the company has created many commercial instruments and reagents for use in research and applied fields. Several of these products, including the LightCycler® Instrument, have been sublicensed to Roche Diagnostics. Researchers, medical technicians, law enforcement officers, and soldiers in the field use the company's devices to detect or study disease-causing organisms. For further information, please visit www.idahotech.com.
