Some recent developments in biodefense and early pathogen detection

Biodefense is the protection of people, animals, and plants from biological threats. This can be done through vaccination, treatment, and detection.

Some of the emerging trends in biodefense include the development of new vaccines and therapeutics, the use of nanotechnology for detection and decontamination, and the use of synthetic biology for the development of novel countermeasures.

In order to explore this technology space, I did a very simple search in Mergeflow, just for “biodefense”. Obviously this will miss many things that are relevant to biodefense but don’t use the term explicitly. But it’s a start.

Here is a?snapshot of the data?I started with (click on the image below to see the data):

I build software for a living, not biodefense solutions. But it seems to me that the most useful biodefense solutions can do rapid detection and analysis, are as non-invasive as possible (non-invasive is easier and quicker), and as affordable and portable as possible (“biodefense on a phone”?).

I started by looking at companies, then at some recent R&D in biodefense.

Biodefense and pathogen detection companies

BioFlyte

BioFlyte?makes portable mass spectrometers for aerosol detection. These aerosols include viruses, bacteria, spores, opioids, and other substances.

The latest addition to their product line is a system for indoor detection of coronavirus and other respiratory pathogens. The system has integrated PCR test capability:

BioFlyte’s system for detecting coronavirus and related pathogens. Image from?BioFlyte’s website.

In April 2022, BioFlyte raised $6.1M Series A from?Cottonwood Technology Fund?and?Anzu Partners.

OmniVis

OmniVis?makes handheld devices for rapid pathogen detection, and a cloud-based computing platform that enables epidemiological modeling.

For cholera and E. coli bacteria detection, they use a method called LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification). Work on detecting other pathogens such as?malaria, HIV and blood sepsis is in progress.

OmniVis iSpyDx handheld device for rapid pathogen detection. Image from?OmniVis website.

OmniVis has received funding via the SBIR program (Small Business Innovation Research, a US federally funded program; SBIR is one of the?public research funding data sets?analyzed by Mergeflow):

Internal Control Design for a Portable Cholera Pathogen Detector

More recently they are investigating?RT-LAMP?(RT = reverse transcription) for RNA virus detection. Here is a paper from April 2022:

PD-LAMP smartphone detection of SARS-CoV-2 on chip

Beyond COVID, RT-LAMP is being investigated for detecting pathogens causing?dengue,?hepatitis?and other diseases.

BioFluidica

BioFluidica?makes a liquid biopsy diagnostics platform. Liquid biopsy is a non-invasive procedure used to collect and analyze cells from the blood in order to detect the presence of a disease. This type of biopsy is less invasive than traditional biopsies, which involve surgically removing tissue samples.

In February 2022, BioFluidica raised $6M Series B2 (I could not find names of the investors). This is in addition to funding from the National Institutes of Health’s?Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx)?program.

With the new funding, BioFluidica aims to develop accurate, rapid, low-cost, at-home tests for COVID-19. This will be enabled by BioFluidica’s?Liquid Scan platform. At the core of this platform is a patented microfluidic chip:

Fluid-tight flow system to isolate biomarkers from a liquid sample

Dual-depth thermoplastic microfluidic device and related systems and methods

Avsana Labs

Avsana Labs?is a spin-out company from the University of Texas at Dallas. The company commercializes recent research that uses a method called?nanobubble detection. The goal is to use the technology for diagnosing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In children under age 1, RSV is the?leading cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

According to Avsana Labs’ website, their new test will deliver results within 20 minutes, cost under $15, and have a test specificity comparable to RT-PCR.

Mammoth Biosciences

Mammoth Biosciences?makes diagnostics, therapeutics and protein discovery based on CRISPR technology (Nobel laureate?Jennifer Doudna?is a co-founder).

Using CRISPR for diagnostics promises?high accuracy, versatility, and simple deployment. “Versatility” means that it should be possible to very quickly develop diagnostics for new pathogens.

In January 2022, Mammoth Biosciences has?received emergency use authorization?from the FDA for their CRISPR-based COVID-19 test.

Agilent’s BenchCel platform. It can run Mammoth Bioscience’s COVID-19 test. Image from?Mammoth Bioscience’s website.

In September 2021, Mammoth Biosciences announced $195M funding from?Foresite Capital,?Senator Investment Group,?Sixth Street,?Greenspring Associates,?Mayfield,?Decheng Capital,?NFX and Plum Alley,?Redmile Group,?Foresite Capital, and Amazon.

Some recent R&D in biodefense

Analyzing wastewater

Analyzing wastewater can reveal a lot about the health status of a community. This includes levels of chemicals, drugs, and pathogens. Not surprisingly, the topic of?wastewater monitoring has gained momentum?over the past two years, as you can see in the volume of science publications in the screenshot below:

Science publications on wastewater monitoring have increased over the recent two years.?Screenshot from Mergeflow.

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