 |
| Diego Rey and Leonardo Teixeira in the lab. |
Two Cornell doctoral students have developed a technology that turns bacterial viruses into informants, tapping them to analyze blood and mucus samples rapidly and inexpensively for infectious superbugs like MRSA and other toxic bacteria.
In less than an hour, a user can determine if a person or surface harbors bacteria and, importantly, whether the strain is drug-resistant. What's more, the device, which is similar in appearance to a home pregnancy test, requires no electricity, allowing it to be transported into rural and underserved areas around the globe. And the kit, to be marketed as MicroPhast, requires no special training, eliminating the need for expensive lab equipment and hospital space.
"Because of the nature and simplicity of use of our kit, it could not only be used in hospitals for detection of infectious diseases, but also in remote locations, such as rural areas of developing countries," says Leonardo Teixeira, a microbiology doctoral student in CALS and co-creator of the technology. He suggests the device could also detect harmful bacteria in veterinary settings, in bioterrorism scenarios, and at food-producing factories and farms.
Teixeira and Ph.D. student Diego Rey began developing the technology in 2007 while taking "Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers," where they started a project to develop a fast, reliable, and low-cost method for diagnosing tuberculosis, a crippling disease in many developing countries. They kept working on the invention after the class and later patented it under a startup named GeneWeave Biosciences with assistance from the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise, and Commercialization. In 2008, Jason Springs MBA '09 joined the company as CEO and has since sought to create a business plan, market the technology, and line up investors.
The product works by deploying engineered phages—viruses that only infect bacteria—to analyze bodily fluids for the genetic markers of bacteria. If it finds bacteria, the device then signals whether they are resistant to drugs. "The kit uses the phages to chemically analyze the sample and point out any bacteria," Springs says. "It's a way of tricking the bacteria into telling on itself."
The test could be sold for $10—a significant reduction from existing methods that require skilled technicians and high-priced equipment. In the case of an outbreak, responders could quickly test patients and quarantine those with the potential to spread disease. In theory, the kits will work for any bacteria, though GeneWeave is currently focused on creating a test for MRSA, a hardy and sometimes fatal bacteria that's prevalent in hospitals, schools, and other confined areas, and tuberculosis. The company hopes to build a prototype within 18 months and, with FDA approval, release the kits within three years.
"It's great to be part of bringing something to the market that can save lives and ease human suffering," says Springs. (Ted Boscia)
Related Links: