Both companies will work together to integrate and improve a diagnostic system to be used in clinical environments that will enable same-day detection and genomic-based antibiotic susceptibility profile without the need of blood culture
Oxford Nanopore and DZD will develop a new class of diagnostics for bloodstream infections. (Credit: Tatiana from Pixabay)
Molecular sensing technology provider Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has partnered with US-based Day Zero Diagnostics (DZD) to develop a new class of diagnosis of bloodstream infections, which are considered to be primary contributors to sepsis.
DZD is an infectious disease diagnostics firm that uses whole-genome sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to fight the rise of infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
Both companies will work together to integrate and improve a diagnostic system to be used in clinical environments that will enable same-day detection and genomic-based antibiotic susceptibility profiles without the need of blood culture.
In the future, the firms intend to pursue regulatory clearances, including those from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
DZD CEO and co-founder Jong Lee said: “We are pleased to launch this collaboration with Oxford Nanopore that integrates nanopore sequencing innovations with Day Zero Diagnostics’ platform technologies to develop a first-of-its kind diagnostic solution for sepsis.
“Culture free, same day, organism identification and antimicrobial susceptibility profiling directly from native samples will be a game changer for infectious disease diagnostics, directly enabling early, targeted life-saving treatment for patients.”
The diagnostic system will combine sequencing results from Oxford Nanopore’s small-format PromethION 2 Solo with DZD’s enrichment sample preparation technology and its AI-driven Keynome microbial identification and antibiotic susceptibility pipeline.
According to DZD, the partnership is intended to create a workflow for completely automated sample processing and sequencing that meets the requirements of clinical hospital labs.
The Oxford Nanopore platform is said to offer real-time, scalable features with upgraded single-nucleotide sequencing accuracy. This will help in the quick and affordable characterisation of pathogens in clinical samples, the American diagnostics company said.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies CEO Gordon Sanghera said: “We are excited to partner with Day Zero Diagnostics to bring the benefits of nanopore sequencing to fight bloodstream infections.
“Our hope is that the rapid results, high accuracy and accessibility of the Oxford Nanopore system, combined with DZD’s expertise and workflow, will make it possible for more people to access a solution that’s fast and effective in the fight against bloodstream infections.”
Additionally, DZD agreed to offer ONT-based sequencing and analysis for commercial customers.