SystemOne has announced that it is partnering with BluSense Diagnostics for its upcoming clinical trials in Brazil and Malaysia – with an eventual goal of combatting the spread of Zika.
Both companies have received a USAID Grand Challenge for Development Grant that is going to help the companies combat Zika and other diseases. The partnership will also help communicate disease outbreak data around the world for Dengue and Zika virus.
BluSense’s BluBoxTM diagnostic device data will be integrated with SystemOne’s Aspect data management system. SystemOne will also be developing a way for BluSense customers to be able to see and analyze disease-related data with ease. The integration of the 2 will be piloted in field studies in Malaysia and Brazil with BluBox Dengue assay.
BluSense is currently developing a way to test for Dengue virus by using a single drop of blood. Traditional Dengue tests test for dengue antibodies in blood samples. If the IgG is positive and the IgM is low or negative, that is a likely indicator that the patient has had dengue virus recently.
The USAID Challenge Grant is also going toward supporting BluSense’s efforts in creating an assay that can diagnose the presence of Zika.
“We see a natural alignment with BluSense as they prepare to launch the BluBoxTM, along with the Dengue and Zika tests, in markets where SystemOne’s disease intelligence networks already deliver real-time disease information,” said Chris Macek, CEO of SystemOne. “By collaborating on the upcoming studies in Southeast Asia and Latin America, both companies bring core competencies to enable rapid detection and response to pandemic-prone diseases in high-risk regions of the world.”
There has been a total of 41,870 Zika virus cases as of June 7 in the U.S. and U.S. territories this year alone. It is transmitted through bites from infected mosquitos and can cause birth defects. The CDC reports that some locations in Texas and South Florida have a high risk of Zika, and most of Central Africa and South America have a Zika risk as well.
“While our instrument generates critical data, we needed a partner to help us move, parse and channel the data to the right places to make the most difference,” said Filippo Bosco, CEO of BluSense Diagnostics. “SystemOne, with its existing experience in dozens of countries, was the ideal partner to help us understand the best use cases for real-time information and for aggregated data, and how to make the data flow in the most effective and least costly manner.”