CBMX to test for bird flu
CombiMatrix to Collaborate with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) on USA's National Early Detection System for Avian Influenza
Tuesday May 2, 6:00 am ET
WADDL is One of Approximately 48 Labs in the U.S. That is Certified for Influenza Testing
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2006--Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:CBMX - News; Nasdaq:ACTG - News) announced today that its CombiMatrix group will collaborate with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) on influenza testing. A broad interagency effort is being undertaken to monitor the Pacific Flyway, to determine if the seasonal migration of birds will bring the highly pathogenic Eurasian strain of Avian Influenza (AI: H5N1) into North America and the United States. This effort is being coordinated by the US Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with State regulatory agencies.
The Pacific Flyway includes Alaska, Western Canada, and the West Coast of the United States including Washington State. There is concern that the seasonal migration of birds will bring the pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 avian flu into this region of the world through the Pacific Flyway.
The current validated protocol for verification of a pathogenic influenza strain requires performing an initial PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to determine the existence of matrix protein gene, which is common to all Influenza A infections. If matrix protein is present, then a successive PCR for hemagglutinin is performed to determine if the H5 gene is also present. While this part of the procedure can be completed quickly, verification and further typing after a positive result requires that the sample be cultured and sequenced, necessitating roughly another week or more to complete. CombiMatrix's influenza monitoring system has shown in laboratory tests that it can confirm and type the infection in four hours. Our goal in this study is to demonstrate that our system produces quick virus typing results in the diagnostic laboratory environment that correlate to the standard protocol.
"Our Influenza Surveillance Technology has been validated in our laboratory in collaboration with the World Health Organization. We now seek to validate the system in the field in collaboration with WADDL," stated Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of CombiMatrix Corporation. "We are pleased that two Washington State organizations can function together to address this potential animal and public health concern."
"We look forward to working with CombiMatrix to determine if their technology can enable more rapid typing of influenza viruses from animals," said Dr. Terry McElwain, DVM, Ph.D., Professor and Executive Director of WADDL, and Director of Animal Health Research Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University. "While official verification of a highly pathogenic strain of influenza will require virus isolation initially, completing a test that can type the virus in four hours would be a significant advance over the conventional approach in monitoring spread of infection once an outbreak has been confirmed."
ABOUT WADDL
The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) is a publicly supported laboratory located in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. With two locations in Pullman and Puyallup, the WADDL provides disease surveillance in animal, food, and environmental samples. WADDL was one of the 12 founding members of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and routinely performs diagnostic assays to detect disease agents such as avian influenza and BSE.
ABOUT ACACIA RESEARCH CORPORATION
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060502/20060502005204.html?.v=1
CombiMatrix to Collaborate with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) on USA's National Early Detection System for Avian Influenza
Tuesday May 2, 6:00 am ET
WADDL is One of Approximately 48 Labs in the U.S. That is Certified for Influenza Testing
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2006--Acacia Research Corporation (Nasdaq:CBMX - News; Nasdaq:ACTG - News) announced today that its CombiMatrix group will collaborate with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) on influenza testing. A broad interagency effort is being undertaken to monitor the Pacific Flyway, to determine if the seasonal migration of birds will bring the highly pathogenic Eurasian strain of Avian Influenza (AI: H5N1) into North America and the United States. This effort is being coordinated by the US Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with State regulatory agencies.
The Pacific Flyway includes Alaska, Western Canada, and the West Coast of the United States including Washington State. There is concern that the seasonal migration of birds will bring the pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 avian flu into this region of the world through the Pacific Flyway.
The current validated protocol for verification of a pathogenic influenza strain requires performing an initial PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to determine the existence of matrix protein gene, which is common to all Influenza A infections. If matrix protein is present, then a successive PCR for hemagglutinin is performed to determine if the H5 gene is also present. While this part of the procedure can be completed quickly, verification and further typing after a positive result requires that the sample be cultured and sequenced, necessitating roughly another week or more to complete. CombiMatrix's influenza monitoring system has shown in laboratory tests that it can confirm and type the infection in four hours. Our goal in this study is to demonstrate that our system produces quick virus typing results in the diagnostic laboratory environment that correlate to the standard protocol.
"Our Influenza Surveillance Technology has been validated in our laboratory in collaboration with the World Health Organization. We now seek to validate the system in the field in collaboration with WADDL," stated Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO of CombiMatrix Corporation. "We are pleased that two Washington State organizations can function together to address this potential animal and public health concern."
"We look forward to working with CombiMatrix to determine if their technology can enable more rapid typing of influenza viruses from animals," said Dr. Terry McElwain, DVM, Ph.D., Professor and Executive Director of WADDL, and Director of Animal Health Research Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University. "While official verification of a highly pathogenic strain of influenza will require virus isolation initially, completing a test that can type the virus in four hours would be a significant advance over the conventional approach in monitoring spread of infection once an outbreak has been confirmed."
ABOUT WADDL
The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) is a publicly supported laboratory located in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. With two locations in Pullman and Puyallup, the WADDL provides disease surveillance in animal, food, and environmental samples. WADDL was one of the 12 founding members of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and routinely performs diagnostic assays to detect disease agents such as avian influenza and BSE.
ABOUT ACACIA RESEARCH CORPORATION
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060502/20060502005204.html?.v=1
