Meridian Bioscience took first place among three phase II winners in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Lead Detect Prize competition.
The competition is aimed at advancing the development of rapid point-of-care (POC) blood lead-testing technology. Phase II of the competition concluded with the three winners dividing an $850,000 prize pool; Meridian will receive $500,000 to support further development of its POC test, which measures lead in blood samples using electrochemical sensors.
The five winners of phase I shared a $150,000 prize equally and advanced to phase II, which gave them access to a virtual accelerator plus technical assistance and resources for developing their solutions. The second-place winner, OndaVia, featured applied optical technology in its test, using a distinctive fingerprint signature to detect lead. It will receive $250,000. Third-place winner GlucoSentient and UT Austin will receive $100,000 to advance their entry, which uses an adapted blood glucose meter platform and a DNAzyme sensor to detect lead.
The CDC's Lead Detect competition aims to advance reliable, accessible, and efficient POC blood-based lead testing for children by encouraging innovation, according to its website.
