As we mark Lyme Illness Consciousness Month this Might, HHS is proud to rejoice the 10 groups taking part in Part 2 of the LymeX Diagnostics Prize. The last word objective of HHS and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Basis’s LymeX Innovation Accelerator (LymeX) competitors is to nurture the event of diagnostics towards Meals and Drug Administration assessment.
The present two-tier antibody testing system—initially developed in 1994 for illness surveillance, not as a stand-alone diagnostic check—depends on the presence of antibodies and may solely be used precisely 4 to 6 weeks after the affected person turns into contaminated.
Accelerating innovation by money prizes and knowledgeable sources
By way of September 2023, ten groups are taking part within the Part 2 digital accelerator, which gives entry to digital studying, mentorship, biorepository subject material experience, and networking alternatives. With prior work in areas starting from sepsis to genetic sequencing and glycomics, the accelerator cohort is making use of a broad vary of experience to their proposed next-generation diagnostics.
By utilizing a prize competitors mannequin, the LymeX Diagnostics Prize gives money prizes alongside a spread of non-monetary sources. The competitors is designed to stimulate the marketplace for Lyme illness diagnostics by serving to entrants overcome diagnostic growth obstacles with prize funds and technical help—whereas additionally fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Enhancing testing accessibility is essential to bettering affected person outcomes, and groups are already starting to contemplate the difficulty with the assistance of scientific research and machine design sources. Over the summer time, the cohort will take part in roundtable discussions with sufferers and clinicians as they refine their ideas.
The LymeX Diagnostics Prize is setting a brand new bar for innovation in illness diagnostics. If exams are efficiently validated, the cohort’s work might assist enhance Lyme illness therapy general—in addition to exams for different infectious illnesses.
Wanting forward: Skilled judging panel to convene in October 2023
Following the accelerator, the cohort will submit idea papers that element resolution refinement, scientific and affected person enter, and a roadmap from lab to market.
The competitors judging panel—composed of specialists throughout biology, scientific and know-how translation, affected person expertise and advocacy, diagnostic science and know-how, exponential innovation, and ethics—will consider eligible submissions based on official Part 2 analysis standards. Primarily based on the judges’ evaluations, they are going to suggest as much as 5 Part 2 winners of the LymeX Diagnostics Prize.
The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Basis has made a beneficiant $10 million pledge to the LymeX Diagnostics Prize. HHS and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Basis awarded $1 million in Part 1 of the LymeX Diagnostics Prize, with $9 million in extra LymeX prizes projected to be obtainable in future phases, together with Part 2. A collection of accelerator sources can be made obtainable to the general public on the competitors web site to help broader innovation in Lyme illness diagnostics and therapy.
To obtain all Part 2 updates, subscribe to the LymeX Diagnostics Prize publication and comply with @Lyme_X on Twitter.
