Alveo Technologies developed this
groundbreaking product in partnership with x-Ovo, Royal GD and
Pharmsure; first shipments of Flockscreen to EMEA expected Q3
2024
ALAMEDA,
Calif., June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alveo
Technologies, Inc. (Alveo), a leader in molecular sensing and
diagnostics with its proprietary technology platform, today
announced that rigorous development and testing has demonstrated
that the Flockscreen LAMP Avian Influenza Molecular Test can
accurately detect the presence of virus in both cloacal and
oropharyngeal samples from poultry with comparable limit of
detection, sensitivity and specificity. Alveo and their development
partners performed more than 20,000 reactions on over 4000 assay
cartridges during their evaluation of over 100 candidate primer
sets and assay conditions, using both contrived and clinical
samples. Relevant regulatory bodies have been engaged and
appropriate validation and verification activities will be
completed prior to shipment.
The product is available today for pre-sale in Europe and the Middle East. The company expects to begin
shipping in volume in the third quarter of 2024.
The current HPAI panzootic has recently spread to cattle and at
least 47 other mammalian species. Due to current disease
control legislation, this has led to the destruction of more than
half a billion poultry worldwide. Rapid, accurate tests are vital
for early detection and containment, protection of the poultry
industry, the prevention of zoonotic transmission and spillover
events from one species to another, food security, the maintenance
of agricultural trade, and ongoing monitoring and surveillance.
Current agricultural tests for highly pathogenic avian influenza
(HPAI) all suffer from one of several significant drawbacks that
make them unsuited to these use cases. Polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) requires lab processing, which means it can take days to
receive a result, and vaccination causes serology tests to turn
positive even if the bird is not infected1. Lateral flow
(also known as antigen or instant tests) lacks sensitivity and
produces a significant percentage of false negative results.
Alveo's portable and rugged molecular diagnostic platform has
been designed to provide accurate, rapid test results at the point
of need. It functions as a core component of a notifiable disease
electronic management ecosystem that the company and its strategic
partners have developed to support producers, as well as
governmental bodies who are looking to expand the surveillance of
important zoonotic pathogens. Two multiplexed panels enable the
on-site broad detection of Avian Influenza Type A virus (targeting
matrix gene) in poultry with differentiation of H5, H7, and H9
subtypes using oropharyngeal or cloacal samples. Both panels
contain 7 assays, 6 of which are identical between cartridges. This
configuration ensures the greatest coverage of the most clinically
relevant global AI strains from the past 5-10 years, through to the
current strains. The platform's rugged design enables it to
function in the field under extreme conditions, including very hot
and near freezing temperatures, following a drop of one meter, and
when subjected to movement and vibration, which are common
challenges encountered in field settings.
Alveo has developed assays for Flockscreen LAMP AI on its
proprietary molecular platform with several partners —including
x-OvO, Royal GD, and Pharmsure International Ltd. — and it will
provide healthcare and government authorities with a rapid,
decentralized, molecular test that eliminates the
need to ship hazardous samples to a lab. Additionally, the platform
has the capability to wirelessly upload time-stamped geotagged
results to a common portal, providing organizations with near
real-time information on the spread of the virus. The platform will
provide veterinarians with intuitive, rapid, point-of-need testing.
For producers, Flockscreen will empower rapid responses to reduce
the disease's spread and mitigate the impact on their business.
"The creation of a decentralized testing ecosystem that respects and
expands process control by disease management authorities, combined
with molecular biology levels of accuracy, could lead a paradigm
shift in the way notifiable disease challenges are controlled,"
said Dr. Richard Currie, President,
x-OvO.
"Alveo's molecular diagnostic platform is a groundbreaking
technology that raises the bar for speed and accuracy in
point-of-need diagnostic testing," said Wim
Kieftenbeld, Director Business Development at Royal GD.
"Combined with our expertise in veterinary diseases and
diagnostics, we've worked together to develop an assay that
accurately and rapidly delivers results at point of need for both
cloacal and oropharyngeal samples, a first for agricultural
diagnostics for HPAI."
"Our platform makes it simple to test for HPAI in poultry, and
we will be the first diagnostic of its kind that can test both
cloacal and oropharyngeal samples," said Shaun Holt, CEO at Alveo. "Our rugged design
enables healthcare providers, veterinarians, growers, and public
health officials to obtain rapid results at point of need so they
can take immediate action."
Alveo expects first customer shipments of Flockscreen LAMP AI in
EMEA to begin by Q3 2024. For more information visit:
alveotechnologies.com/flockscreen
About Alveo
Alveo is the first company to make molecular detection and
diagnostics universally accessible – on the farm, in the field, in
the clinic, or in the manufacturing plant – helping prevent or
significantly limit the destructive impact of viruses, fungi,
bacteria, and other pathogens by detecting earlier at the Point of
Need™. Alveo's rugged and portable, multiplex-capable diagnostic
platform employs a patented method of direct electrical sensing of
nucleic acid amplification to provide affordable, rapid, and
accurate results. By enabling early pathogen detection, Alveo helps
manage global health, food security, and supply chain resiliency by
providing actionable insights at lightspeed. Know Sooner, Act
Faster™ with Alveo. For more, visit:
https://www.alveotechnologies.com/.
1 Tumpey TM, Alvarez R, Swayne DE, Suarez DL.
Diagnostic approach for differentiating infected from vaccinated
poultry on the basis of antibodies to NS1, the nonstructural
protein of influenza A virus. J Clin Microbiol. 2005
Feb;43(2):676-83. doi: 10.1128/JCM.43.2.676-683.2005. PMID:
15695663; PMCID: PMC548100.
Media contact
Jeff
Miller
jeff@marketstreetgrp.com
541-207-6413
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SOURCE Alveo Technologies