Abionic, an EPFL spin-off, has just brought
its first round of financing to a close and was selected yesterday by Red
Herring as one of Europe’s 100 most innovative companies. Using only a single
drop of blood, the system developed by the company can pinpoint allergies in just
20 minutes. The device could be available by 2013.
With
its quick and painless allergy detection and analysis system, Abionic is on a
roll. This spin-off of EPFL’s Biomedical Imaging Laboratory has just obtained
two million Swiss francs from private and institutional investors, including
MedHoldings, Polytech Ventures, Blue Ocean Ventures, Fongit Seed Invest and the
Business Angels Switzerland. This funding will allow the company to finish
developing its system and aim for commercialization next year. Yesterday, the
young company selected as one of Europe’s 100 most innovative companies in late
April by Red Herring, a US magazine that is considered a reference for many
venture capitalists. Four other EPFL startups were also on the top 100 list:
Biocartis, Paper.li, HR Matching, and StereoTools.
A
multitude of allergens on a single CD
Geared
for use by allergists, pediatricians and other medical practitioners, this
device resembles a DVD player equipped with a touch screen. It comes equipped
with plastic capsules containing single-use biochips. It only takes about 20
minutes to diagnose a patient’s primary allergies, using a single drop of
blood. This system could free millions of people throughout the world from
having to undergo the tedious skin test, which consists of scratching or
pricking the skin to allow exposure to various allergens, and then evaluating
the skin's reaction.
A few
drops of a reagent are mixed with the blood sample. The preparation is placed
in a compartmentalized capsule that contains ten biochips, each of which is
prepared with a different allergen. The tiny device is mounted on a plastic
surface in the form of a CD and “read” by a laser. The results appear on the
screen and are automatically saved to a memory card. The doctor can read, print
and save the results to his or her computer. The CD can be personalized with
several dozens of different allergens.
Counting
molecules
In a
general sense, nanofluidic biochips take advantage of various special
properties that fluids exhibit at the nanometer scale. Nicolas Durand built
upon this technology as part of his PhD research in EPFL’s Microsystems
Laboratory, and it was further developed by the Biomedical Imaging Laboratory
start-up.
Here’s
how it works: The blood enters into contact with allergens that have been
previously deposited in the biochip. The interactions between certain proteins
in the blood, which are marked with a fluorochrome (a chemical substance that
can emit light upon excitation) and the immobilized allergens are measured by
fluorescence. The device’s laser excites the protein-allergen molecular
complexes, and they emit light. The concentration of these complexes determines
the degree of the allergy. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but in
this case, you’re sure to find it if it’s there.
Next
targets: cancer and Alzheimer’s disease
According
to the Swiss Center for Allergies, about a quarter of the Swiss population
exhibits various allergic symptoms. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology has announced that close to 50% of Americans suffer from allergies.
On a global scale, all allergies, including food allergies, have been on the
upswing since the mid-1950s. “The world market for diagnostics in 2011 was
evaluated at more than 40 billion Swiss francs,” Durand reports.
The
company’s objectives are equally promising; in addition to reducing the
analysis time on their device even further, the start-up is already looking at
the possibility of using the method to detect other diseases whose blood
biomarkers will be commercially available, such as certain cancers and
Alzheimer’s disease.
Cecilia
Carron in Immunology
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