Therma Bright Inc (TSX-V:THRM, OTC:TBRIF) said it has entered into a letter of intent with AI4LYF LLC for the exclusive licensing rights for a digital cough-based diagnosis screening technology.
The Toronto-based medical device maker said its Digital Cough Test (DCT) is a groundbreaking, patent-pending technology, powered by an innovative AI engine built by smart-health company AI4LYF.
Therma Bright CEO Rob Fia said the market for DCT received a boost when Pfizer's recently acquired ResApp Health out of Australia for US$179 million.
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“While we continue to pursue our regulatory approvals for AcuVid, there are several advantages to DCT including: less costly development, a faster regulatory path, and instant accurate results. The FDA has encouraged the development of digital tests to deal with COVID-19 and potential future respiratory diseases," Fia said in a statement.
According to Therma Bright, DCT can accurately and almost instantly detect multiple respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, simply from a smartphone app. DCT does this by digitally dissecting cough sounds into hundreds of features.
The AI analyzes the cough features to detect the subtle and peculiar signatures of specific respiratory diseases. The license rights will include the development of DCT for other respiratory diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the company.
The DCT app records the cough when prompted by the user on the smartphone DCT app. The app then produces a positive or negative COVID test result within one minute, with accuracy above 94%. DCT results for COVID-19 are comparable to current PCR testing methods, the company said.
Therma Bright said it is adding this screening tool to complement its existing smart-enabled diagnostic tool in the marketplace as it awaits FDA and Health Canada approval for its AcuVid COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Saliva test.
The company said it believes DCT will drive sales of its diagnostic tool by channelling individuals who have screened positive using the DCT app to then seek ultimate validation with AcuVid. In addition, the DCT technology expands Therma Bright's capability to detect other respiratory diseases with a quicker, less costly regulatory path and approval process.
Therma Bright said it would lead a clinical trial of DCT for COVID-19 diagnosis, starting in mid-January 2023.
Upon execution of the LOI, Therma Bright said it advanced $200,000 to AI4LYF and will advance an additional $65,000 on 1 December 2022. The consideration payable to acquire the exclusive license is expected to comprise a royalty, common shares of the company and up to 2,000,000 warrants, with each warrant being exercisable for a common share upon payment of $0.17 per share.
The final terms of this transaction are currently being negotiated and a definitive agreement is expected by 15 December 2022, according to Therma Bright.
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