AACC Disruptive Technology Award Finalists Tackle Cancer, Women's Health, and STDs

Biological Dynamics (San Diego, CA, USA), Nanopath (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Visby Medical (San Jose, CA, USA) have been selected as the finalists for AACC’s 2022 Disruptive Technology Award. The three finalists presented early-stage cancer detection technology, point-of-care molecular diagnostics using optical detection, and a rapid sexually transmitted disease assay during the 2022 AACC Annual Scientific Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo. AACC’s Disruptive Technology Award recognizes innovative testing and disruptive technology solutions that improve patient care through diagnostic performance or access to high quality testing.

Biological Dynamics presented its Verita Isolation Platform, which will become the basis of an annual screening blood test for multiple cancers, according to the company. The platform uses technology for isolating nanoparticles and macromolecules from whole blood, plasma, serum, urine, and saliva. The company recently received an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its first liquid biopsy assay that uses the platform for the early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using exosomal proteins.

Image: The Disruptive Technology Award recognizes innovative testing and disruptive technology solutions (Photo courtesy of AACC)

Nanopath presented its Nanopath Platform, a solid-state biosensing platform with ultrasensitive optical detection. This feature eliminates the need for nucleic acid amplification and provides clinically actionable genetic information in less than 15 minutes. According to the company, the platform should be a “go-to” system for routine women’s health screening at the point of care because it enables high-complexity tests and allows physicians and clinics to get testing revenue. To date, the company has generated preliminary data in two clinical indications: human papillomavirus genotyping and urinary tract infection characterization.

Visby Medical PRC Point-of-Care Tests run on an instrument and cartridge-free, single-use PCR platform that fits in the palm of the hand and delivers accurate results about causes of serious infections in under 30 minutes. The test would eliminate the need to send samples to remote central labs for processing and has been shown to detect DNA from chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The platform could benefit patients in remote areas without access to high complexity labs.

Related Links:
Biological Dynamics 
Nanopath 
Visby Medical