Albuquerque, NM – November 12, 2014 STC start-up company nanoMR, Inc., spun off from technology developed at the University of New Mexico and local company ABQMR, Inc., announced it has won a lucrative contract from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ R&D arm, BARDA. The company has been tasked with developing its rapid infection detection technology into a device that can detect biothreat pathogens and will focus on anthrax as its first target. The three-year contract’s value could reach $21.5 million if nanoMR meets required development milestones. See Kevin Robinson-Avila’s Nov. 6th article, “ABQ Startup NanoMR Wins $21.5M Contract,” from the Albuquerque Journal, reprinted below, and Gary Gerew’s Nov. 7th article, “Albuquerque Biotech Company Lands $21.5M Deal,” from Albuquerque Business First, at http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/11/albuquerque-biotech-company-lands-21-5m-deal.html.
ABQ startup NanoMR wins $21.5M contract
Copyright © 2014 Albuquerque Journal
An Albuquerque startup that developed technology to rapidly diagnose infections in blood has won a $21.5 million government contract to adapt its system for use against biothreats.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority wants to use NanoMR Inc.’s technology to build an automated device that could detect biothreat agents such as anthrax in just a few hours.
“We’ll start by targeting anthrax specifically, but BARDA is interested in other biotargets as well,” said NanoMR President and CEO Victor Esch. “We’ll look at more biothreats as the project moves forward.”
The research and development authority, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the Albuquerque company a three-year contract with $5.9 million in federal funding in the first year. If NanoMR meets required milestones, the contract’s value could grow to a total of $21.5 million.
NanoMR’s technology has demonstrated the ability to detect infections and identify the type of bacteria present in blood in two hours. That compares with the 24 to 27 hours that doctors must wait today for labs to grow cultures.
The company, formed in 2007, originally licensed its technology from the University of New Mexico and from ABQMR Inc., an Albuquerque firm that specializes in magnetic resonance imaging. UNM and ABQMR researchers developed a process to attach tiny magnetic beads to antibodies that imbed themselves in potentially infected cells. The cells are then run through a device to monitor emissions from the beads, allowing lab technicians to isolate and extract the infected cells from blood samples.
Once extracted, technicians can rapidly identify the bacteria present, allowing doctors to begin antibiotic therapies before an infection has entered the bloodstream, which is known as sepsis.
Apart from developing a specific analysis for anthrax and other bioagents, the company will build its diagnostic technology into a fully automated system, Esch said. Its current system is managed manually by technicians.
NanoMR has received $21 million in venture funding. It employs 22 people at a 19,000-square-foot facility near Jefferson and I-25.
Source: STC.UNM
For more information, contact:
Denise Bissell
(505) 272-7310
dbissell@stc.unm.edu