PLEASANTON, Calif., 28 April 2005. MicroFluidic Systems (MFSI) announced today that they have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with USAMRIID to evaluate MFSI's pathogen sample processing technologies and products.
USAMRIID is the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases.
MFSI has been awarded several prime contracts from the U.S. government, including one from the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) to develop a Bioagent Autonomous Networked Detector (BAND) system.
One of the key components of this automated pathogen detection system is MFSI's proprietary cell lysis technology, which has been developed into a stand-alone commercial laboratory instrument called the BioLyser. USAMRIID is one of several key entities working with MFSI to provide initial user feedback on the product.
"Through this CRADA, USAMRIID will provide key feedback to MFSI's current and future products for diagnostic applications," commented Dr. M. Allen Northrup, MFSI president and CEO. "Providing critical technologies to the men and women defending our country is a very inspiring mission for us and we intend to continue this course of action well into the future."
MicroFluidic Systems (MFSI) was founded in 2001 and is focused on the development of automated microfluidic systems for biological assays. MFSI personnel have been involved with the development of automated DNA-based pathogen detection systems and microfluidics for the U.S. government and commercial markets for over 10 years, including the world's first miniaturized, portable, battery operated, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection system. For more information, see www.mfsi.biz.
USAMRIID, located at Fort Detrick, Md., is the lead medical research laboratory for the U.S. Biological Defense Research Program, and plays a key role in national defense and in infectious disease research. The institute's mission is to conduct basic and applied research on biological threats resulting in medical solutions (such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to protect the warfighter. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. For more information, see www.usamriid.army.mil.
