Rapid test goes to market

Medical technology developer Atomo Diagnostics and diagnostic company BBI Solutions have entered into an agreement to commercialise Atomo’s next-generation rapid blood test platform, AtomoRapid worldwide.

AtomoRapid is a hand-held rapid blood test device that simplifies procedures, eliminating the need for complex test kits containing multiple items.

AtomoRapid addresses a number of performance issues common to current test kits by providing improvements in ease of use and accuracy. This means that AtomoRapid is ideal for medical practitioners to use in multiple settings, facilitating point-of-care testing and the detection of a range of diseases in surgeries, outreach clinics and in peoples’ homes.

The agreement provides BBI Solutions with access to the Atomo platform to use across any number of original equipment manufacturer requests requiring blood sampling. It complements BBI’s other product offerings in the diagnostic assay area.

“We are extremely pleased to have BBI engaged in the global rollout out of AtomoRapid,” said Atomo’s CEO, John Kelly. “BBI is a genuine leader in this market, with an enviable reputation for high quality, and is ideally placed to convert the rapid testing market over to this next-generation solution. We view their commitment to AtomoRapid as a validation of the market-friendly solutions being developed by Atomo to address unmet needs in the healthcare industry.”

Atomo announced in June that it would be bringing AtomoRapid HIV to market later this year.

Rapid testing is recognised as increasingly important, bringing HIV/AIDS under control in South Africa and other high disease-burden countries. However, the use of complicated HIV test kits in real-world conditions typically results in a significant reduction in the accuracy of HIV testing in the field. AtomoRapid HIV is an all-in-one rapid HIV test that is simple to perform and removes the source of many errors common with current test-kit-based procedures.

Atomo Diagnostics is an Australian-based company with a range of integrated and award-winning products that improve usability and performance of blood-based diagnostic testing. The initial product being launched is AtomoRapid, the world’s first fully integrated rapid blood test device for lateral flow near patient testing.

Part of Alere, a leader in near patient diagnostics, BBI is a supplier of diagnostic assay development and manufacturing products, critical reagents and technologies to the global diagnostic and pharmaceutical markets.