In a lift to the region’s burgeoning reputation as a bioscience magnet, it was announced today that Temple start-up Global BioDiagnostics Corp. (GBD) www.globalbiodiagnostics.com has struck a collaboration with the Geneva-based FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics) to develop a rapid, low-cost and simple test for the detection of active tuberculosis. Phase 1 of the agreement signed between the parties will consist of FIND providing funding and development assistance for early stage development of a new point-of-care TB test based on GBD’s innovative biophotonic detection platform that utilizes reporter enzyme fluorescence to detect TB.
Lee Peterson, president of the Temple Economic Development Corporation choosetemple.com was ecstatic at the news. “This deal is a wonderful opportunity for Temple and the region to showcase our experienced workforce to a global audience and to demonstrate to the world that significant, future-changing bioscience research and development is taking place right here in our community.”
According to the President and CEO of Global BioDiagnostics Corp., Michael T. Norman, J.D., the partnership with FIND will provide the critical support needed to develop the technology into a point-of-care test that meets the needs of the global TB market.
“GBD is founded on principles that make it natural for us to partner with FIND. Our vision is to be a world-wide leader in the provision of low-cost, easy-to-use, rapid diagnostics that meet the needs of the global infectious disease market, with special attention paid to the constraints inherent in low-resource settings,” Mr. Norman said. “In our particular case, we are designing the test to meet the needs and parameters of the global TB market, which often means low-resource settings with severe constraints.”
Dr. Jeffrey D. Cirillo, Professor, Dept. of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and Principal Investigator for GBD’s technology platform, stated that “this technology offers the potential to increase the sensitivity of detection by orders of magnitude over microscopy, the only diagnostic technology that is currently widely available in endemic settings.”
With the GBD/FIND partnership firmly in place, Temple is solidifying its place among the few communities in the US to have the infrastructure and local resources in place to support such entities as the Temple Business Incubator, Texas A&M Medical School, the Bioscience Park and the Texas Bioscience Institute. Each of these are all assets to help cultivate this kind of innovation. By moving into this area, Global BioDiagnostics are essentially agents of change for the region and its ever-growing reputation as a great place to do business.
About Global BioDiagnostics Corp:
Global BioDiagnostics Corp. is an early stage biotechnology company whose mission is to develop, manufacture and distribute diagnostics that address huge needs in the global infectious disease market. The company’s products in development for TB utilize a ground-breaking biophotonic detection platform developed by researchers at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Texas A&M University and Stanford University. The research conducted by Texas A&M was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the funding for Stanford was through a sub-grant by Texas A&M. The company has offices in Temple, Texas and Daresbury, England. For more information, please visit www.globalbiodiagnostics.com.
About Temple:
Temple, Texas is a community with a diverse economic base that includes healthcare, distribution and warehousing, and manufacturing as the foundation. Within 180 miles of a population of 17.8 million, Temple is in a strategic location that is central within the southwest U.S. marketplace.