Pattern Bioscience, a company specializing in rapid diagnosis and antibiotic susceptibility testing for bacterial infections, has been awarded a cost-share contract by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
While the base award is $22.5 million, the contract is worth up to $40.9 million, Pattern said in a statement. The base award will fund the late-stage development, verification, validation, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of Pattern's single-cell microbiology system and its pneumonia and bacteremia identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) panels. Optional phases of funding could expand the scope to include high-throughput urine screening and ID and AST testing for urinary tract infections.
The Austin, TX-based Pattern noted that the two panels funded under this award are focused on severe pneumonia and bacteremia, two of the most life-threatening infections that occur in critical-care settings. Pattern's Pneumonia ID/AST Panel is designed to identify pathogens directly from clinical samples without culturing and provide same-day phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for more than 98% of the organisms typically detected in hospitalized pneumonia patients, the firm said. The Bacteremia ID/AST Panel is designed to identify pathogens and provide phenotypic AST directly from positive blood culture samples, also eliminating the need for culturing, as well as isolation.
The federal funds used to support this project come from the HHS, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and BARDA under contract number 75A50124C00042.
