NEW YORK (360Dx) — The US Army has awarded Abbott Laboratories a contract for more than $35.2 million to develop a traumatic brain injury diagnostic assay.
The US Department of Defense said last week that work on the assay will be performed in Abbott Park, Illinois with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds of $12 million were obligated at the time of the award, DoD said.
The Army previously awarded Abbott a contract in 2017 of about $11.3 million to develop a TBI assay. A spokesperson from Abbott confirmed the new award is an extension of that contract, which had an estimated completion date of Oct. 23, 2019. Abbott and DoD have been collaborating since 2014 to develop portable blood tests to aid in the evaluation of potential concussions.
Abbott has been also been developing a blood-based test for TBI for use on its handheld blood testing system called the i-STAT Alinity with other collaborators.