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ECI Biotech is Awarded $949K: a Phase II grant to commercialize a wound bioburden rapid diagnostic
Phase II grant to commercialize a wound bioburden rapid diagnosticDATELINE: Worcester MA — August 31, 2008 — ECI Biotech Inc., a Worcester-based biotechnology company, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a phase II grant in the amount of $949k from the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to commercialize a rapid diagnostic that detects the presence of harmful bacteria that cause wound infections. ECI’s first product will be a bioburden diagnostic that will help doctors assess wound infection status and prescribe a topical antibiotic or silver dressing as appropriate to treat that wound infection. Chronic wounds often do not heal because they are infected, and currently, doctors are using highly subjective methods such as swelling (adema), redness (erythema), odor, and temperature to diagnose infections.
The Founder and Executive Vice President, Mitchell C. Sanders, PhD, stated that “A rapid point-of-care diagnostic addresses a significant unmet need because visual signs are not reliable indicators of chronic wound infection. Unlike the culture of swabs and biopsy samples that can take 2-3 days to get results, our ExpressDetect® diagnostics are definitive and work in a matter of minutes. The ability to assess a wound for infection on a real-time basis is truly revolutionary.”
The CEO, Anthony J. Bernardo, stated, “There are 14M chronic wounds treated annually, and each would is assessed on the average of 8-10 times during the course of healing. This represents a huge global market opportunity for ECI, and our entire company is focused on bringing this first product to market in 2010”.
ECI Biotech, Inc. is a leader in the development of rapid point-of-care diagnostics for infections for consumer and professional use. Potential partners interested in ExpressDetect® technologies should contact Dr. Mitchell Sanders (sanders@ecibiotech.com).