Ray of Acolyte shines against disease
Ten years of research at Porton Down has enabled Acolyte Biomedica
to develop an automated system to diagnose bacterial infections such
as pneumonia and meningitis and explore their drug susceptibility in
record time.
Acolyte is a joint venture between Dstl and international technology
group ANGLE Technology, with finance from BioProjects International.
Development house Cambridge Consultants Limited (CCL) has been involved
too, designing a high throughput testing machine that uses a combination
of three Dstl technologies:
- advanced bioluminescent detection technology – the key to
the rapid diagnosis
- immuno magnetic separation (IMS) technology
- antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST).
Speedier diagnosis and treatment means:
- better patient recovery as suitable antibiotics are prescribed earlier
- reduced risk of the infection spreading
- less potential for multi-drug resistant bacteria such as MSRA to
thrive since the test quickly pinpoints the most effective antibiotics.
Dr Bill Mullen, Acolyte’s business development director predicts
that the Acolyte instrument will slash health care costs through targeted
treatment, ending the current ‘hit and hope’ approach.
“There will also be an impact on the emergence of multi-drug
resistant strains of bacteria – the right drug for the right bug,”
he says.
Hugh Ballantine Dykes, biotechnology marketing manager for Dstl, said:
“Dstl has a wealth of first-rate scientific knowledge, which has
benefits far beyond the military field. Acolyte demonstrates that Dstl’s
expertise in biotechnology can be combined with technology management
and finance to provide a winning formula with great benefits to the
health service.”
Chris Hammond, head of CCL’s healthcare engineering added: “Automation
of microbiological testing is overdue. By combining Acolyte’s
technology and CCL’s rapid product development expertise, ultra-rapid
microbiological detection will soon be a reality and bring all the associated
benefits.”
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