The University of Colorados Technology Transfer Office has executed two licenses with Quidel Corporation of San Diego, CA, a leading provider of rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests. The agreements grant exclusive, worldwide rights to two influenza detection technologies developed by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The Anti-Viral Resistance (AVR) Chip was developed by a team of CU-Boulder researchers led by Drs. Kathy Rowlen and Robert Kuchta. Quidels intent is to develop and market diagnostic tests featuring the chip for use in identifying mutations that may complicate influenza treatment decisions.

The chip detects the two most common factors contributing to the resistance of influenza to drug treatment. The ability to identify antiviral susceptibility is important for global monitoring of influenza patterns, and for directing physicians toward better treatment decisions.

Preliminary studies demonstrate a 95% success rate in the detection of influenza mutations known to result in drug resistance.

The BChip was also developed at CU-Boulder, in close collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); its primary application is in influenza B monitoring, as a tool for the clinical laboratory and at the point-of-care in the physician office laboratory. The BChip can detect two influenza B virus strains (B/Victoria/2/87 and B/Yamagata/16/88), which are critical in determining seasonal influenza vaccines.

In a recent study of 62 influenza B virus samples from 19 countries, dating from 1945 to 2005, as well as five negative control samples, the BChip exhibited 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity, with no false positives.

The two new chips help strengthen Quidels technology foundation in molecular diagnostics; they represent further work done on the FluChip and MChip technologies licensed by Quidel from CU in December 2006.

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Contact: Lindsay Polak
lindsay.polak@cu.edu
303-735-5518
University of Colorado at Boulder
17-Jul-2007