CombiMatrix Awarded $5.9 Million Department of Defense Contract for Development Of Biowarfare Detection Technology
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--03/08/2004--Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:CBMX)(Nasdaq:ACTG) announced today that its CombiMatrix Group has received a two-year contract from the Department of Defense (DOD) that will provide $5.9 million to further the development of its microarray technology for the detection of biological threat agents.
Under previously funded programs with the Department of Defense, CombiMatrix demonstrated that its microarray could be multiplexed for the simultaneous detection of toxins, viruses, and bacteria using immunoassay and genomic analysis. Unique to this platform is "on chip" electrochemical detection, which eliminates the need for a complex and expensive optical system.
"We are pleased with the granting of this contract. The funding will enable us to advance our technology into a new commercial area for CombiMatrix," stated Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of CombiMatrix Corporation. "We hope this is the beginning of a long-term relationship with the DOD."
The focus of the new contract will be the integration of CombiMatrix's biotechnology with microelectronics and microfluidics and the development of an automated system with maximum flexibility and sensitivity for biothreat agents with reduced size and cost. Under an existing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), CombiMatrix will seek to integrate its system against a broad range of requirements from portable hand held devices to larger industrial units. CombiMatrix's integrated detection system will target potential threats such as Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax), Yersina pestis (plague), toxins, and other agents that could be used as bioweapons by terrorists and other enemies.
"Our goal is to develop a versatile detector system around assays that are recognized as the gold standards for agent identification," said Dr. David Danley, Director of Homeland Security and Defense Programs for CombiMatrix. "This program will demonstrate the power of our technology for identifying the presence of biothreat agents, infectious diseases and other environmental hazards." |
