PathSensors, Inc. expects the SARS-CoV-2 biosensor to be available for research purposes in May 2020.
BALTIMORE (PRWEB) MARCH 24, 2020
PathSensors Inc, a Baltimore biotechnology company, announced today that they are developing a CANARY ™ biosensor to detect the Novel SARS Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent for the coronavirus disease COVID–19. The biosensor will be available for research purposes in May 2020 and validation data on the new SARS-CoV-2 product will be available June 2020.
CANARY ™ technology provides a unique opportunity to reduce the impending public health impact of COVID-19 with rapid results and high specificity. The initial application for this PathSensors product will be for testing of environmental swabs and air monitoring in sensitive spaces such as hospitals, offices, food services, etc. PathSensors will continue to advance the assay’s capabilities as the novel virus is further characterized. As the SARS-CoV-2 biosensor is commercialized, PathSensors expects new uses to emerge, such as rapid specimen screening.
Third-party laboratory validations have demonstrated that commercially available CANARY ™ products are highly sensitive and specific. PathSensors offers three instrumentation platforms that are easy to use and typically generate test results in less than 5 minutes. PathSensors expects the SARS-CoV-2 product to be a valuable tool for fighting the spread of COVID-19.
An expert in virology and biological threats, Dr. David Hodge was involved in commissioning and overseeing a third-party evaluation of CANARY ™ technology while working at the Department of Homeland Security as the Senior Program Manager for Basic Research and Assay Development. “Our evaluation of CANARY™ technology resulted in promising sensitivity of detection data,” said Dr. Hodge, PathSensors’ Scientific Advisor. “A SARS-CoV-2 assay would be a powerful solution to a critical problem.”
“PathSensors has a long history of manufacturing rapid and highly sensitive detection kits for dangerous biologic agents such as anthrax, orthopox, ricin, listeria, and many others. We expect this new SARS-CoV-2 assay to dramatically expand the tools available to public health agencies fighting this pandemic” said Ted Olsen, PathSensors’ President.
About COVID-19
A novel coronavirus was discovered in late 2019 in China before spreading around the world. The disease, COVID-19, causes severe pneumonia-like symptoms and can be spread via human-to-human transmission prior to any symptoms. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause diseases including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is still much to learn about the novel coronavirus and the impacts of COVID-19 on global health.
About CANARY Technology
CANARY ™ is a biosensor technology that delivers extremely rapid detection of pathogens with high sensitivity and specificity. Originally developed by scientists at MIT–Lincoln Laboratory to combat bioterrorism threats, CANARY ™ technology has been licensed and commercialized by PathSensors, Inc.
About PathSensors, Inc.
PathSensors is a leading environmental testing company, built on CANARY ™ technology which is exclusively licensed from MIT-Lincoln Laboratory. CANARY ™ offers cutting-edge pathogen detection capabilities to a variety of industries including food safety, agriculture, and bioterrorism. The company’s mission is to make the world a safer place by detecting pathogens that can cause sickness or worse while creating high technology jobs in the state of Maryland.
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“We expect this new SARS-CoV-2 assay to dramatically expand the tools available to public health agencies fighting this pandemic,” said Ted Olsen, PathSensors’ President.
