Northwestern and Minute Molecular collaborate on potential PCR test for monkeypox
Daily file photo by Ava Mandoli
Northwestern Technological Institute. A 15-minute monkeypox detection system would be a major improvement from current tests, which can take at least several hours, if not a few days.
September 29, 2022
Northwestern spinoff company Minute Molecular Diagnostics is collaborating with the University to develop a monkeypox PCR test.
The test could provide positive or negative monkeypox results in about 15 minutes, according to a Wednesday news release.
The technology is based on a preexisting Minute Molecular system called the Diagnostic Analyzer for Specific Hybridization. Using DASH, NU’s Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies created a COVID-19 PCR test, which received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in March.
Led by McCormick Profs. David Kelso and Sally McFall, Minute Molecular’s co-founders, researchers are applying DASH to monkeypox detection.
Currently, most available monkeypox tests require a healthcare provider to vigorously rub rash lesions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Samples need to be sent to a central laboratory and results come back within a few days.
“We look forward to working with Minute Molecular to bring a rapid monkeypox test through clinical validation,” DASH clinical evaluation team member and Feinberg Prof. Robert Murphy said in the release. “DASH offers the accuracy of central laboratory PCR tests in a compact, portable platform that can be operated by non-technical personnel at the point of care in 15 minutes.”
DASH could expand monkeypox testing to sexually transmitted infection clinics, immediate care clinics, emergency rooms and physicians’ offices. The team expects to file for emergency use authorization at the FDA early next year, the release said.
The team is also working to develop similar DASH testing for the flu, HIV, hepatitis C and several STIs and other illnesses.
“To help control the spread of this contagious infection, the development of rapid diagnostic testing is essential,” Kelso said in the release. “DASH provides central laboratory-quality results at the point of care.”
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— Northwestern spinoff company receives $21.3 million grant to produce single-swab COVID-19 PCR test
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