ExcitePCR Announces Its Fireflydx-Portable: A Lightweight, Bookbag-Sized Realtime Pathogen Detection System, With Commercial Availability Slated For Summer 2018

Recent market developments inspire ExcitePCR management to expand its product strategy to a planned rollout of a FireflyDX family of realtime pathogen detection systems
Wed, 08/30/2017

PLEASANTON, Calif. — August 30, 2017 — ExcitePCR™ today announced the FireflyDX-Portable™, a rechargeable bookbag-sized realtime pathogen detection system that will enable first responders, medical professionals and food safety officials to accurately obtain on-site results anywhere in the world in less than 30 minutes … including sample preparation time.

The FireflyDX-Portable is designed for use in several multi-billion-dollar industries, markets where molecular diagnostics are critical to ensure rapid safety and treatment protocols. Unfortunately, today’s existing solutions for accurately identifying potential pathogens and bio-threats, especially at the Point-of-Care / Point-of-Need (POC / PON), can sometimes take as long as several hours to several days to provide results, dramatically delaying what is often life-saving treatment, while also increasing costs, both personal and financial. In addition, most state-of-the-art Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) solutions in use today for pathogen detection typically require a professionally trained operator working in a pristine laboratory setting and/or are heavy, bulky and tied to a personal computer to function properly.

By contrast, ExcitePCR’s FireflyDX-Portable is a standalone, bookbag-sized bio-threat detection system that can be operated by virtually anyone with minimal training yet still produces highly accurate results. In addition, the FireflyDX-Portable will deliver such results in under 30 minutes, including sample preparation (which generally takes the most time in pathogen detection).

“Recent market developments have inspired us to expand our development efforts onto a new path, one that will require little if any regulatory oversight initially, yet will allow us to solve the challenges faced by several markets,” said Lyle Probst, President, CEO and founder of ExcitePCR. “That’s why we’re announcing the FireflyDX-Portable system today, a bookbag-sized biohazard detection solution that can be used anywhere around the world and deliver extremely accurate results in minutes. In addition, we want our clients and potential partners to understand that we are continuing forward with our development work on a truly handheld pathogen detection system, which we now call the FireflyDX-Handheld™, a system we plan to have commercially available in 2019.”

The FireflyDX™ Family of Realtime Pathogen Detection Systems

Since 2013, ExcitePCR’s team has been developing a new type of biological detection system, one that is lightweight and rechargeable and

  1. Can be used in the field by non-professionals and non-technicians,
  2. Dramatically reduces sample prep time to as little as 10 minutes,
  3. Maintains the highest levels of accuracy found in lab-based PCR-based solutions,
  4. Does not require the use of a separate personal computing device,
  5. Can test for the presence of multiple pathogens simultaneously, and
  6. Provides highly accurate results in under 30 minutes (including sample preparation times).

Some of the milestones achieved by ExcitePCR on/with its FireflyDX technologies during the past four years include

  • 2014 co-awardee for the SenseNet I Program from the U.S. Department of the Interior on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate
  • Signed a U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) agreement with Special Operations Research, Development, & Acquisition Center, Science & Technology Directorate (USSOCOM SORDAC-ST) in 2014
  • Completed breadboard* design of the FireflyDX system and began in-lab testing
  • Completed development of single-use, disposable cartridges with pre-programed RFID chips, with no end-user programing or setup required
  • Successfully identified multiple organisms simultaneously on a FireflyDX breadboard in ExcitePCR’s laboratories
  • Used a FireflyDX breadboard to successfully identify numerous organisms at the molecular level, including such targets as
    • Anthrax,
    • C. diff (Clostridium difficile), both Toxin A and B variants,
    • Ebola virus,
    • Genetically Modified food items (aka, GMOs),
    • Influenza (multiple strains),
    • MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus),
    • MSSA (Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus), and
    • Zika virus, among others.

ExcitePCR will release additional details about the FireflyDX-Portable and its FireflyDX advancements in the near future.

About ExcitePCR

ExcitePCR Corporation is developing portable realtime pathogen detection systems based upon superior sample preparation and realtime PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) methodologies. Its FireflyDX technologies will deliver rapid automated Point-of-Need / Point-of-Care (PON / POC) sample preparation and highly accurate biohazard identification in a fraction of the time currently possible using existing PCR-based solutions.

ExcitePCR, FireflyDX, FireflyDX-Portable and FireflyDX-Handheld are each trademarks of ExcitePCR Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

* — Breadboard = A reusable, solderless electronic circuit board prototype.

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CONTACT: David Politis, dpolitis@excitepcr.com, C: 801-556-8184

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