Biotechnology entrepreneur Fred Mitchell fretted last month as swine- flu cases mounted.
Existing tests can take several days to confirm a swine-flu diagnosis — a period in which infected people may unknowingly be spreading the virus.
Mitchell’s firm, Beacon Biotechnology, says it has a medical tool that could dramatically speed up the diagnosis of flu and other diseases and even the detection of biological warfare agents.
Aurora-based Beacon has developed a disposable computer chip, the size of a pencil eraser, that it says can use a single drop of body fluid to detect up to 112 diseases or genetic conditions in as little as 15 minutes.
Yet the chip’s use has been confined, so far, to preclinical testing as Beacon seeks funding to move the device to clinical trials and possible federal approval for marketing.
If successful, Beacon will join the competitive ranks of biotech companies with products that allow doctors to nail a diagnosis moments after a patient arrives in a clinic.
“The ability to diagnose something quickly and treat it, or reassure patients that they don’t have something, is a big benefit,” said Michelle Barron, an assistant professor in the infectious-disease division at the University of Colorado Denver.
“As a society, we want an answer now, not two days from now,” Barron said. “Medicine doesn’t always work that way, but it’s a good goal.”
Barron cautioned that all diagnostic tools — whether rapid-test units being developed by Beacon and other firms or conventional equipment — have limitations on accuracy and sensitivity.
Mitchell said that in a recent test, Beacon’s “BrightSpot” device accurately detected an HIV-positive blood sample in 13 minutes, compared to a commercially available unit that took three hours.
Beacon, launched in late 2006, has raised just under $1 million from investors. Like most biotech companies, Beacon’s funding has slowed considerably in the past year in concert with the weakening economy.
Still, Mitchell is seeking about $8 million in venture capital and licensing fees — an amount that would enable the firm to bring a highly sensitive quick-test unit to market by 2011 that could detect swine flu and other strains.
The need is still there, according to a recent report from the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute.
“We should regard the current outbreak of (swine flu) as a bad dress rehearsal for opening night,” said researcher Danielle Nierenberg. “It is not a question of whether the virus will re-emerge, but when, and we are woefully unprepared.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
