Privately held Montana startup FYR Diagnostics has been awarded a $334,000 grant, with the potential to rise to $618,000, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research paving the way for the development of epilepsy diagnostics.
The grant was awarded by the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, through the government's Small Business Innovation Research program. In the first phase of the funding, FYR Diagnostics will develop biomarkers for use in diagnostic kits.
Founded in 2016, Missoula-based FYR is using blood-based and DNA/RNA amplification techniques to focus on diseases with high unmet need. In 2018, it licensed technology from Montana State University that is designed to amplify signals from biomarker molecules to enable rapid and early detection of diseases with portable devices. Co-founder and President Sarjubhai Patel, PhD, is an associate research professor at the University of Montana.
