All three firms developing next generation versions of a networked biological agent detection system have been invited to submit offers to extend for one year the current phase of their development work, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The reason for the extension was due to scope changes proposed last November by the Office of Health Affairs within DHS, which will eventually take over the Bioagent Autonomous Networked Detector (BAND) program from the Science and Technology Directorate once the project transitions into operational test and evaluation. The extra time will also allow for more field trials, with systems being used in operational sites.
The scope changes include adding a Global Positioning System sensor, being able to do monthly rather than quarterly maintenance, more modular configurations, and more, DHS says.
DHS intends for the BAND effort eventually to migrate into the third phase of the BioWatch program, called Generation 3.
BioWatch is an early warning system for the detection of airborne biological materials that may have been intentionally released or are naturally occurring. The system consists of pathogen detectors located in various major U.S. cities. The detectors collect the airborne particles and then are sent on a daily basis to a network of laboratories for analysis.
Under the BAND program, IQuum, Microfluidic Systems, Inc. (MFSI) and U.S. Genomics are working on respective solutions aimed at detecting a wider range of potentially harmful pathogens over a wider area and more quickly provide automatic warnings via a networked system. The extensions, if awarded to one or more of the firms, will run through April 2009.
Believing it is in a good position heading into the final development leg of the program before DHS decides to transition BAND into low-rate production, MFSI has signed agreements with Applied Biosystems [ABI] and United Technologies Corp. [UTX] Hamilton Sundstrand division, which will provide proven systems and expertise needed to transition to production and operational support.
Applied Biosystems will provide manufacturing of TaqMan assays, which are chemistry reagents that can detect harmful pathogens, MFSI says. The assays have been used in over 5 million anthrax screening tests using in mail screening applications.
Hamilton Sundstrand will provide design to manufacture, manufacturing know-how, pilot production, high volume production and product support under its agreement with MFSI.
In Phase 3 MFSI demonstrated testing of a fully integrated system, Allen Northrup, MFSI’s CEO, tells TR2. “We are on track,” he says.
MFSI calls its system M-BAND, for Microfluidics-based BAND. During the recent tests the system ran straight for over two weeks, was monitored and operated remotely, and demonstrated that it does detect bacteria, viruses and toxins, Northrup says.
U.S. Genomics, whose development is a higher risk approach, will wrap up its Phase 3 work in May. Adding another year to its development work for a new prototype of its system will still be a “very tight” schedule but there are things that can be speeded up, David Hoey, vice president of business development at U.S. Genomics, tells TR2.
Hoey says that early prototypes of U.S. Genomics’ solution continue to show promise and that hopefully the company will get funded for extended development and additional testing.
IQuum and MFSI are developing systems based on polymerase chain reaction chemistry techniques that are well established. While these companies are using multiple reagent sets in their designs, U.S. Genomics is basing its solution on a universal reagent set that can detect and identify multiple pathogens.