Mtech Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2004

Innovative Biosensors Joins University of Maryland's Technology Advancement Program

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—Innovative Biosensors Inc., a company developing fast, portable systems to detect harmful pathogens, is the newest company to join the Technology Advancement Program (TAP), the University of Maryland's technology company incubator

Founded in 2003, IBI is moving its headquarters to College Park from Gaithersburg, Md., to take advantage of TAP's business mentoring, funding introductions, and university resources—including biotechnology product scale-up, faculty expertise, and student work force—according to Joe Hernandez, the founder and CEO of Innovative Biosensors.

"Look at the pedigree," said Hernandez. "TAP companies have historically been very successful at raising money [$473.5 million since 1986]."

IBI's sensor platform was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratories, where it was supported through funding from DARPA and other government agencies. IBI's exclusive license for the technology covers the fields of food testing, human and animal clinical diagnostics, and sales to the life science research market.

Anthrax, smallpox, and several other major biological warfare agents have been tested and detected by IBI's sensor system, called CANARY™ (Cellular Analysis and Notification of Antigen Risks and Yields), in as little as 60 seconds. The sensor utilizes genetically modified immune system cells to respond to specific pathogens, along with a molecule that lights up when the specific agent is detected.

"We genetically engineer nature's pathogen detection system, white blood cells, to detect what we want and to glow when it finds the appropriate target," Hernandez explained. "We are, in essence, leveraging millions of years of genetic refinement to detect pathogens with revolutionary sensitivity and speed."

Imagine that a doctor's office, during an epidemic, could have patients cough into a small device and know within seconds whether or not they have Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or a cold. That's how effective IBI's device will be.

With plans to commercialize tests to detect pathogens in the areas of food testing and public health, IBI has already acquired $162,000 from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation. Investors include private angels, as well as the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. The company also has a partnership with the U.S. Army to develop sensors to detect the SARS Corona and West Nile viruses.

In the consolidated $300 million food pathogen testing market, IBI sees an opportunity in the 89 million hogs, 37 million cattle, and seven billion chicken and turkeys processed each year. In 2001 alone, Tyson Foods processed over 18 percent of all beef, pork and chicken sold worldwide, while in recent years four firms tested 79 percent of all beef and 49 percent of all chickens put to market.

Today's methods of testing meat for the deadly E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria can take up to 32 hours. IBI's takes significantly less time, with equal or greater sensitivity.

IBI is also targeting the $10 billion public health market with plans to develop tests for emerging infectious diseases requiring a rapid, sensitive result.

"We can engineer our product to detect any pathogen for which there is a currently available antibody against," said Hernandez.

Hernandez has held senior marketing, sales and business development positions at Digene Corporation, Affymetrix, Inc., and Merck.

Innovative Biosensors employs six part-time and full-time people, with plans to hire six more within the next year.

About the Technology Advancement Program
TAP is a leading incubator and accelerator that assists early-stage technology companies in achieving their goals. TAP expedites the maturation of young firms by providing a unique bundle of services and resources, ranging from intense mentoring and funding introductions to deep technical resources and low-cost physical infrastructure. The oldest incubator in Maryland, TAP has successfully incubated nearly 50 diverse emerging companies since 1986, including biotech industry leaders and numerous thriving niche enterprises. TAP is a program of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, in the A. James Clark School of Engineering, at the University of Maryland.

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