AmpliSens. Enhancing Rapid Tests for perinatal Group B streptococcus
Project reference
CPP2021-008459
Programme and call for tender
Proyectos en Colaboración Pública-Privada 2021
Duration
Oct 2022 – Oct 2025
Coordinator
BioEclosion S.L.
UAB IP
Isabel Pividori
Project website
AmpliSens proposal addresses the development of a rapid and portable molecular test for the screen-out of neonatal sepsis due to GBS in the blood or CSF of the suspected newborn and for the screening of pregnant women. Such a test can be used both in low resource settings where microbiological cultures are not available, and in high income countries to dramatically improve turnaround times for results and reduce costs. The product (AmpliFast) relies on two modules, being the first a hand-held thermocycler operated by batteries to perform double-tagging end-point PCR in combination with an RDT platform (rapid diagnostic test), developed by BioEclosion being a disposable cartridge and a reader. This approach can generate billions of tagged DNA copies from a single target molecule, increasing the sensitivity of the approach, which can be rapidly detected with the RDT platform to provide the results of GBS infection within half an hour and in low resource settings.
BioEclosion (coordinator Dr. Jofre Ferrer Dalmau) partner with UAB team (PI: Prof. Isabel Pividori, expert in the Rapid Diagnostic Tests), ISGlobal team (PI: Prof. Quique Bassat, key opinion leader in neonatal infections) and EureCat (for prototyping the product) in this acceleration phase, to build a reliable, scalable, and secure product faster and at the same time, ensuring compliance with the EU Regulation, for the rapid detection of GBS infection.
The combination of academic and industrial partners in the AmpliSens consortium, as well as clinical and basic science researchers working in research institutions, provides a highly complementary study team, which will deliver project aims according to chronogram. This, in combination with a valorization and commercialization plan, will pave the way for future large-scale implementation.
This three year project is funded by the European Union.
The Consortium
The AmpliSenS consortium is led by BioEclosion SL and includes:
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
- BioEclosion
- Eurecat
- IsGLobal
Total funding
€450.164,50 (awarded by Mecanismo de Recuperación y Resiliencia de la Unión Europea)
