Funding will advance work by Ranger consortium on a system for rapid detection.
The European Commission Framework 7 program awarded Enigma Diagnostics €3 million to develop an influenza diagnostics. The funding will be applied to the Ranger consortium, which the company coordinates.
Enigma, along with the other members of the group, will leverage the backing to develop and validate a fully automated, low cost system for the rapid diagnosis of various subtypes of influenza infection.
The system will be based on Enigma’s fully automated technology, which integrates sample preparation with real-time PCR to detect viral RNA in a full range of clinical samples. The final portable tool will provide rapid results to medical staff in a near-patient or out-reach environment in both the developed and developing world, according to the company.
The Ranger consortium includes Applied Biosystems, Sagentia, Tico Europe, Bruhn Newtech Group, BIOplastics, and Pera. It also includes the Health Protection Agency, the U.K.’s national reference laboratory for influenza diagnostics, and the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health who will evaluate and validate the system.
