Baltimore’s Novel Microdevices, Inc. Awarded $1.4M NIH RADx® Funding for Point-of-Care RT-PCR Test
Novel Microdevices, Inc. Awarded ~$1.4M from NIH RADx® Tech to Develop a Next-generation, High Performance, Point-of-Care RT-PCR Test
August 8, 2023
While it has been a challenging funding climate in MedTech this year, the team at Novel Microdevices, Inc. in Baltimore, continues to capture awards to advance their cost-effective, portable, rapid, multiplexed, and easy-to-use PCR testing solution for infectious diseases and more.
The company has announced today that it has been awarded $1.4M award in Phase 1 funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech program in support of the commercialization of its high performance, rapid, point-of-care, RT-PCR platform for multiplex diagnostic test that detects RSV, influenza A, influenza B, and COVID-19 in under 15 minutes. The program includes potential for Phase 2 funding pending successful completion of Phase 1.
In addition to RADx, Novel received a $200,000 investment from TEDCO’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) fund.
The CEO of Novel, Andrea Pais, added – “This recently awarded Phase 1 Contract by RADx Tech represents a major achievement for our company and serves as a strong validation of our cutting-edge diagnostic testing technology. This milestone will propel the continued advancement of our technology, allowing us to provide the fastest and most accurate PCR test for the point of care market.”
Originally launched in April 2020, the NIH RADx Tech program was created to speed innovation in the development of COVID-19 tests by providing funding and access to technical, regulatory, clinical, and commercial experts. In September 2022, another round of funding up to $300 million was announced to improve performance of over-the-counter (OTC) and point-of-care (POC) COVID-19 tests with a focus on universal design features to ensure ease of use, decrease the need for serial testing, and account for future variants. Products for this round must be ready for commercialization within 12-36 months.
This project has been funded in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
Novel Microdevices continues to show promise and is a company to keep your eye on. They joined Baltimore’s LaunchPort™ Medtech Venture Center in February 2021 and shortly after in April they were awarded up to $13.8M in non-dilutive funding from CARB-X, a global nonprofit partnership based out of Boston University that supports R&D, to address the emergence of bacteria that is resistant to treatment drugs. Pais was also named to the Baltimore Sun’s 25 Women to Watch in 2021.
