XPhyto Therapeutics Corp announced that its acquisition target, 3a-diagnostics GmbH has identified the first saliva-activated "in-mouth" biosensor candidates for the detection of a coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
The company said the “enzyme-activated biosensors” are developed for real-time, low cost and easy-to-use oral screening applications for the rapid detection of infectious diseases including COVID-19 at home or at the point-of-care.
On July 20, 2021, Vancouver-based next-generation bioscience accelerator XPhyto signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of its exclusive diagnostics development partner 3a-diagnostics, which is based in Frickenhausen, Germany.
READ: XPhyto in transformative acquisition with 3a-diagnostics to enter hi-tech biosensor market
The company said a comprehensive review of current COVID-19 detection methods published on July 24, 2021, in the journal 'Science Direct' pointed out the significance of biosensor technology. The review noted that the conventional techniques for coronavirus detection like CT-scan, PCR, Sequencing, CRISPR, ELISA, LFA, and LAMP are “not sufficient to meet all testing requirements.”
Therefore, the urgent need for rapid, accurate, and low-cost detection systems to rapidly identify current infectious disease and pandemic threats has driven scientists to look for advance new technologies.
“Biosensors in general, and 3a's innovative biosensor system in particular, are a promising and reliable platform technology for accurate, early diagnosis and screening of infectious disease and offer advantages over traditional detection methods,” noted the company.
In a statement, Dr Heinrich Jehle, managing director of 3a-diagnostics said: "We are delighted to announce the successful identification of the first biosensor candidates to diagnose COVID-19 which allows us to expand our portfolio of COVID-19 diagnostics in the future and to complement our recently launched rapid 25-minute PCR test, COVID-ID Lab.
“After optimization, we can assess the clinical performance of our new candidates and proceed with the commercial development of this novel screening test product. This is a major step forward in the development of next generation COVID-19 tests and we are optimistic that development will lead to new, low-cost, rapid, reliable and easy-to-use diagnostic options for low-threshold monitoring of the ongoing pandemic."
Meanwhile, Wolfgang Probst, director and chief operating officer of XPhyto said the bioscience accelerator “believed” in 3a-diagnostics' research and development plan from the beginning, when it signed the first collaboration contract in 2020.
“Now that XPhyto has announced the pending acquisition of 3a, we are particularly excited about this development milestone. Successful validation of the first biosensor candidates demonstrates the expertise and scientific excellence at 3a,” added Probst.
“Since the co-developed and successfully approved German CE marked 25-minute PCR test in March of this year, this novel approach for oral biosensor screening is another important milestone towards development of tools to effectively identify infectious breakouts of COVID-19 to reduce the pandemic spread and help find our way back to the new normal."
In April 2020, XPhyto and 3a-diagnostics signed a definitive development, technology purchase and license agreement for the development and commercialization of real-time, low-cost and easy-to-use biosensor screening tests and related development platform for the rapid detection of infectious diseases.
Subsequently in July, XPhyto inked an acquisition agreement with 3a-diagnostics to acquire all the outstanding shares of the German company for 400,000 euros (US$471,260) to be paid immediately, plus 3.5 million euros (US$4,1million) to be paid on closing, which is likely to happen on or around October 31, 2021.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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