Australia based SpeeDx Pty. Ltd. and UK headquartered QuantuMDx Group Ltd. have announced a collaboration with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). The global non-profit organization drives development and delivery of diagnostics to combat major diseases affecting the world’s poorest populations.

The collaborative project will assess the feasibility of developing low-cost point of care (POC) tests for common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). SpeeDx will use their proprietary PlexPCR® technology todevelop multiplex tests for common STIs, including gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen), to be run on the QuantuMDx Q-POC^TM POC device.

The QuantuMDx Q-POC^TM is a battery-operated, microfluidics based, sample-to-answer system for low-cost molecular testing using rapid PCR followed by microarray detection.

“We are excited by this collaboration with QuantuMDx and the potential to expand access to high quality testing options to the areas of the world that really need it,” said Dr. Elisa Mokany, SpeeDx Founder and Chief Technology Officer. “Patients around the globe are already benefiting from the clinically relevant information provided by SpeeDx tests, but we are cognisant that the current platforms and processes in use to run these tests do not readily translate to all regions of the world.”