NEW YORK — Selux Diagnostics said on Wednesday that it has met the first milestone in its antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) development contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), triggering an $11.4 million payment.
The Boston-based company said it will use the new funding to advance its Next-Generation Phenotyping (NGP) test — an automated, high-throughput AST designed to provide results within 12 to 24 hours — through clinical trials.
The test is based on a microplate-compatible bacterial surface area assay that tracks how pathogens respond to antibiotics by monitoring their shape and size as they attempt to evade death. Selux presented data on the technology in late 2018 and published details of its use for single-day AST earlier this year.
The BARDA contract is worth up to $45 million, and Selux received $9.3 million upfront when it was signed about a year ago. The firm did not disclose details of the latest milestone but previously said that additional funding would be based on the development of a rapid sepsis diagnostic platform.
"We have a joint commitment [with BARDA] to fight the global crisis of antibiotic resistance by helping healthcare providers identify the most targeted therapy days sooner, resulting in better patient care and furthering stewardship efforts to preserve the efficacy of antibiotics as our best defense against infectious diseases," Selux CEO Steve Lufkin said in a statement.
BARDA is a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services.