- XPhyto Therapeutics’ (CSE:XPHY) partner, 3a-Diagnostics, has received a grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research
- The grant of approximately C$387,000 will go towards developing and commercialising biosensors for oral screening tests
- The tests will rapidly detect the Influenza A virus, and high-risk pandemic threats like H1N1 and H5N1
- Under an agreement, XPhyto will incorporate 3a-Diagnostic’s pathogen-specific biosensors into its dissolvable film platform
- XPhyto Therapeutics (XPHY) is up 0.31 per cent and is currently trading at $3.21 per share
XPhyto Therapeutics’ (CSE:XPHY) partner, 3a-Diagnostics, has received a grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provided 3a and its contract research collaborators with a grant of approximately C$387,349.
The grant is the result of the KMU-innovativ program, for small and medium-sized enterprises which are advancing technological progress in Germany.
3a-Diagnostics will use the proceeds from the grant to continue developing and commercialising enzyme-activated biosensors. The biosensors will eventually be used in real-time, low-cost, easy-to-use oral screening tests.
The oral tests will rapidly detect the Influenza A virus, and other Influenza A subtypes which are high-risk pandemic threats. These include H1N1 and H5N1, strains of which are responsible for the swine flu and avian flu outbreaks.
3a-Diagnostics’ Managing Director, Dr Heinreich Jehle, commented on the grant from the BMBF. He noted the necessity of such disease screening technology in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are very pleased to receive the support and validation from BMBF for our infectious disease test development program.
“We believe that low-cost, distributable, and decentralised screening tests will be a critical component of global population-scale pandemic management,” he said.
Back in April 2020, XPhyto and 3a-Diagnostics signed a definitive development, technology purchase, and licence agreement. Under the agreement, XPhyto will eventually incorporate 3a’s pathogen-specific biosensors into its dissolvable thin film platform.
The company is currently working on development for this incorporation, and will announce a program update in the future.
XPhyto Therapeutics (XPHY) is up 0.31 per cent and trading at $3.21 per share at 2:41pm EDT.