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September 23, 2003
BOZEMAN, Mont. - The latest defense against bioterrorism may be in your own saliva. A new test strip can evaluate an individual’s immune response to the anthrax vaccine in a matter of minutes anytime, anyplace. This is a boon to military, health and first-responder personnel as it is an easy test to administer, saves time, and helps them quickly determine who needs treatment. The invention combines saliva sampling technology with specific reagents for determining anthrax vaccine efficacy. Patented and developed by the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research (NIDBR) in Great Lakes, Ill., the invention has just been licensed to Bamburgh Marrsh LLC, of Phoenix, Ariz. and Vancouver, Wash. for commercialization. The TechLink center with the Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Md., helped assure the transfer of rights from the Navy to the company for use of the test device technology with their proprietary sample collection technology, Saliva Sampler®. In addition to the license, a collaborative research and development study is being undertaken to optimize the test with the Bamburgh Marrsh sampler and to gather additional data for rapid 510(k) FDA clearance. |
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The commercialization of this invention is important because immunization against anthrax is expensive and requires a series of vaccinations. Current laboratory tests of immune response can take one to two days using conventional immunoassays, which is a dangerously long time to be uncertain about anthrax immunization when it matters. It would also help, in the case of a large-scale biowarfare incident, to quickly separate those individuals requiring further vaccination from those fully immunized, without having to access their medical records. Anthrax is a usually fatal disease endemic to grazing animals, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This disease can be acquired by humans through contact with infected animals or contaminated materials. Even more dangerous, anthrax spores could also be used as a weapon of bioterrorism. The development of this rapid test for immunization status has two main benefits for the war on terror. First, it would be of immediate benefit to personnel undergoing anthrax vaccinations, who are not routinely monitored for their immune response as a result of the vaccine. As anthrax immunization now requires a series of six inoculations, the ability to rapidly evaluate antibody levels from the vaccine puts important personnel-military, health and first-responders-in the field faster. That saves critical time and money on mission-related objectives. Second, in the case of a possible large-scale anthrax release, emergency medical personnel could use these rapid saliva-based tests to separate immunized personnel from individuals requiring additional vaccinations, without waiting for slower, serum-based results. The anthrax test strip is non-invasive, meaning that it doesn’t require the use of a syringe to collect blood, and the results are available in less than 20 minutes. Bamburgh Marrsh develops and sells saliva-based diagnostic products for laboratory and field use. The company is breaking new ground by integrating its saliva test strips with new technologies that can rapidly diagnose biowarfare agents and immunization status. NIDBR conducts research on problems related to oral health, wellness, disease and injury to increase operational readiness of Sailors and Marines. NIDBR's research also addresses emergent dental problems, enhances the health care delivery system and provides data to improve management of the Navy's Dental Corps. TechLink is located at Montana State University in Bozeman and funded primarily by the Department of Defense and NASA to link companies in Montana and nationwide with federal laboratories for technology licensing and transfer. About Bamburgh Marrsh
Bamburgh Marrsh LLC is a limited liability -company with offices in Vancouver, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona. The company provides high quality diagnostic products and services for the worldwide health care industry. Its range of products include the proprietary saliva collection device Omni-SAL ® (Saliva-Sampler™) sold under license from SDS Inc. and an associated range of immunoassay (ELISA) products, rapid testing products for HIV, hepatitis, other infectious diseases, thyroid function and drugs of abuse as well as a range of genetic tests, which detect possible predisposition to certain diseases or disease states. Visit the website for more information: www.bamburghmarrsh.com CONTACTS:
Dan Swanson
MSU TechLink
406-994-7736
dss@montana.edu
Paul Slowey, PhD, Principal
Bamburgh Marrsh LLC
360-546-1563
BamburghMarrsh@attbi.com
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