NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Akonni Biosystems announced today that it has received a $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to finalize development of a rapid, point-of-care tuberculosis assay for use on the company's TruDx 3000 sample-to-answer diagnostic system.
The grant was awarded under the NIH's Commercialization Readiness Pilot program, which is designed to help small businesses transition projects previously funded by the agency into the commercialization stage.
According to Akonni, the funding will be used to achieve ISO 13485 certification for its TruArray multidrug resistant tuberculosis test on the fully integrated TruDx3000 platform. The certification, the company said, would allow it to market the test to the international community, particularly countries lacking access to existing TB testing methods. The award will also help the company obtain subsequent regulatory approvals.
In August, Akonni was awarded a $225,000 grant from the NIH to develop point-of-care tests for lower respiratory diseases in children.