NIH awards QuantaLife $6 million to build platform for detecting MRSA infections

QuantaLife, a new life science tool company developing the third generation of PCR, has received an NIH grant totaling ~$6 million over 5 years for the development of rapid, cost-effective technology for detecting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The grant, from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health, will fund the project.

QuantaLife is currently building a new instrument system for droplet digital™PCR, the first of its kind, that will detect and quantify DNA/RNA targets. The NIH grant will allow the company to broaden its product pipeline to build a platform for detecting the antibiotic resistant bacteria that cause MRSA infections.  Clinical testing will be done in collaboration with the University of Mississippi Medical Center.