Enigma gets £1.8M for point-of-care diagnostics

Development grant

Enigma Diagnostics, a specialist in point-of-care diagnostics, has been awarded a grant of £1.8M from the UK Technology Strategy Board under its Technologies for Health programme.

The objective is to develop a portable, rapid, automated DNA analysis test system for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia and hospital-acquired infections, including MRSA.

System development will be led by Enigma Diagnostics, a spin-out from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, working with researchers at the Centre for Healthcare Associated Infections at Nottingham University and Nottingham Trent University, who will develop and validate real time molecular assays for the platform.

Point-of-care tests for infectious diseases are a significant unmet clinical need. Chlamydia for example, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the developed world. Most people withc have no symptoms and many are unaware that they have the infection, but if left untreated it lead to infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease. Rapid systems for point-of-care testing will allow accurate diagnosis and immediate treatment.

Similarly, MRSA is a significant public health problem and rapid point-of-care testing is essential for effective patient management. The UK National Health Service is introducing MRSA screening for patients when they are admitted to hospitals in order to help reduce severe infections. The Enigma system will allow rapid testing for emergency and out-of-hours admissions.