Microbio conducted full in-house manufacturing of InfectID™-BSI in the Translational Research Institute facilities.
Microbio’s flagship sepsis test, designed to identify 26 common sepsis-causing pathogens in less than 3 hours received clearance for sale in Europe under IVD Directive 98/79/EC
Microbio developed two SARS-CoV-2 tests and received approval for sale in Europe under IVD Directive 98/79/EC
InfectID™-COVID-19-Replication identifies the presence of replication-competent (the ‘live’, multiplying) SARS-CoV-2 virus
InfectID™-COVID-19-Detection identifies the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including the active virus and inactive particles being shed by the body.
In late 2020, Microbio was awarded a Federal Government Accelerating Commercialisation Grant to commercialise InfectID™-Blood Stream Infection (BSI) diagnostic assay.
A Series A capital raise closed on 30 September 2020. This funding allowed for the continued growth of the team to facilitate the commercialisation of InfectID™. The emergence of COVID-19 motivated the team to develop a SARS-CoV-2 test designed to identify the presence of replicating virus.
Preclinical testing conducted on patient whole blood samples from 203 patients from two Queensland Hospitals.
Dr Flavia Huygens developed and validated a process that identifies pathogens by targeting Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), a pathogen’s DNA ‘fingerprint’, found at a specific point in its genetic code. By focusing on SNPs rather than the whole genome, the process is fast, inexpensive, highly sensitive and can be adapted to address different target pathogens.
This technology was considered a world-first and is unique in its design and application, leading to several publications.
The test was refined and became InfectID™, which uses real-time PCR followed by high-resolution melt-curve analysis to identify pathogen species directly from whole blood without the need to pre-culture.