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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release:
FLAGSTAFF, AZ., November 15, 2010 – PathoGene, LLC today announced it has been awarded two therapeutic discovery grants from the Internal Revenue Service to aid the company in its development of molecular diagnostic assays for infectious diseases. The two awards are for the company’s development projects focused on MRSA and Valley Fever diagnostics. The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project was enacted as part of the health care reform legislation passed earlier this year. In order to qualify under the program's guidelines, PathoGene needed to demonstrate that these projects had the potential to produce novel diagnostics to detect and improve treatment of these infectious diseases while also reducing long-term health costs
MRSA is one of the most common hospital acquired infections, and is particularly problematic given the high degree of antibiotic resistance that MRSA has developed. PathoGene is developing rapid novel molecular diagnostics that both identify the bacteria as well as the drug resistance profile. This will provide physicians with better and quicker information that will provide for earlier intervention with appropriate drugs.
Valley Fever is a fungal respiratory disease endemic to the desert southwest. It is often misdiagnosed as community acquired pneumonia and treated with antibiotics, which are ineffective against a fungal infection. Given the relatively poor diagnostic tools that are currently available, the average time for a patient to be diagnosed with Valley Fever after first seeking care is around 5 months. PathoGene is developing a rapid molecular diagnostic that should significantly improve the diagnosis of this disease.
PathoGene is a molecular diagnostic development company focused on the development of diagnostic assays for infectious diseases, particularly those where multiple drug resistance is a clinical challenge.
Contact Information:
PathoGene LLC
2225 N. Gemini Drive, Suite E-11
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
Phone: 928-863-3248
Email:
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