CibusDx To Commercialize Portable, Onsite Food Safety Testing System
New technology shifts safety paradigm from responding to food contamination to prevention
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CibusDx, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Pronucleotein Biotechnologies, San Antonio, TX and licensed ApolloDx’s revolutionary diagnostic platform for development and commercialization of a new food safety testing system that can be used at any point in the global food supply chain, and provide results onsite within 30 minutes.
“The CibusDx test strips do not require refrigeration and have an extended shelf life”
“The new testing system combines ApolloDx’s mobile, hand-held medical diagnostic system with Pronucleotein’s DNA aptamer assay technology for detecting pathogens in food onsite anywhere in the supply chain, from the farm to production facilities to seaports to the grocery store,” said CibusDx CEO Jared Bauer. “Unlike standard lab-based testing the CibusDx system reduces the time it takes to get results to 30 minutes or less from the current system requiring as long as four days. For consumers, food producers and distributors alike, this preserves the shelf life of food, while maintaining the safety,” Bauer added.
The CibusDx food safety testing system aims to provide food producers and government regulators with a reliable, affordable and convenient, point-of-need test system alternative to laboratory-based testing, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration implements the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act’s strategy of moving from responding to outbreaks of food contamination to preventing them.
The World Health Organization, in 2015, reported that one in ten people worldwide, or 600 million, fall ill every year from eating contaminated food and 420,000 die. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an estimated 48 million people get sick within the U.S., 125,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from foodborne pathogens.
A key advantage of CibusDx’s approach is capturing the pathogen of choice with patented biological molecules, called APOLLOMER™ probes, that can bind to specific targets such as foodborne and waterborne pathogens, biological and chemical toxins as well as bacterial cell walls, cell capsules, parasites and viruses. Aptamer based APOLLOMER probes are similar to protein antibodies and rival their binding capability but are simpler and less expensive to produce.
“The CibusDx test strips do not require refrigeration and have an extended shelf life,” Bauer said. “They are small and lightweight, allowing them to be quickly shipped to any point in the food supply chain. In addition, our backend analytics are built into the platform to track test results, store data and push real-time information into software-based quality management systems.”
Bauer, who anticipates commercialization of the CibusDx system by late spring 2018, observed that the company’s portable, simple, inexpensive technology platform is capable of testing virtually anything relating to food safety.
About CibusDx
CibusDx, Inc. is a new Salt Lake City based diagnostic company dedicated to developing a state-of-the-art food safety platform. CibusDx technology offers a new testing paradigm, utilizing advanced technology and decentralized testing in conjunction with backend connectivity to centralized data repositories. For more information about CibusDx please contact Jared Bauer, CEO, 801-796-2918, ext. 104.
About ApolloDx
ApolloDx, LLC is a Salt Lake City based medical diagnostic company dedicated to developing a state-of-the-art handheld device that provides reliable results to medical professionals within minutes of testing patients at the point of care. ApolloDx technology offers a new testing paradigm utilizing advanced technology and decentralized testing in conjunction with backend connectivity to centralized data repositories. ApolloDx technology is based on using test strips with a proprietary APOLLOMER™ probe to bind to the substance of interest in the test sample. The strips can be developed to detect almost any substance in a liquid sample. The binding allows the company’s handheld analyzer to detect the analyte. The analyzer then performs an electrochemical analysis with a smartphone/smart tablet app and reports the test result to the same smart device. Test results from all locations can be delivered in real time to end users through the cloud and web interface. For more information please visit our website: http://apollodx.com/
NOTICE: This document contains certain forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding CibusDx’s plans for future research and development activities. You are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties inherent to CibusDx’s business which could significantly affect expected results, including without limitation progress of product development, ability to raise capital to fund product development, testing and regulatory approval, developments in raw material and personnel costs, and legislative, fiscal, and other regulatory measures. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and CibusDx undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.