Fayetteville, Arkansas — Vegrandis, LLC, has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Science Foundation for $100,000.    A new low cost, highly effective weapon against bioterrorism that will detect extremely low levels of anthrax and other potential bioterror agents is being developed.  After completion of the Phase I project, Vegrandis will be eligible to apply for Phase II funding up to $1,000,000 for commercial prototype development.

Vegrandis is a biotechnology company whose mission is to develop, build and sell microarrays and laboratories-on-a-chip for clinical diagnostics, drug discovery, environmental monitoring, and genetic and protein expression testing applications.  Vegrandis, formed in April 2002, is one example of the type of knowledge-based companies that Virtual Incubation Company, LLC, a technology venture development company, is cultivating based on technology from the University of Arkansas and elsewhere.  “Knowledge-based companies offer high-level, high-paying jobs,” states Calvin Goforth , President of Virtual Incubation.  “The University of Arkansas is creating technology that can be the basis for many such companies,” he says.   Dr. Ingrid Fritsch is the Chief Technology Officer of Vegrandis, LLC.  Dr.  Fritsch is also an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Arkansas .  The innovative, patent-pending work in the area of micro-electrochemical detection, originally developed in her research group at the University, is the core technology that Vegrandis is commercializing for a wide variety of applications with high market potential and significant societal benefits.

 
This is the fourth SBIR award Vegrandis has received.  Dr. Zoraida Aguilar , a Sr. Scientist at Vegrandis, will lead the project which is for development of an improved method for detection of human exposure to the bioterrism agents including Bacillus anthracis, which is the organism responsible for the anthrax infection.  After exposure to Bacillus anthracis, the body begins to produce antibodies to the organism.  Researchers at Vegrandis will develop an assay to detect very low levels of these antibody proteins in blood.  The assay will require only a pinprick of blood and will provide results in less than 30 minutes.  The system will allow non-skilled personnel to inexpensively and rapidly detect low levels of human exposure to biowarfare agents.  Individuals who manufacture or work with anthrax or other such agents would likely be exposed to low levels of the pathogen over long periods of time and may not have antibody levels that are detectible by current methods.  With Vegrandis’ technology, suspected distributors of anthrax could be quickly screened for exposure and held for further questioning on background and intent.

In Phase II, Vegrandis will extend its efforts to early detection of exposure to other pathogens.  The assay will be designed to screen for exposure to multiple pathogens simultaneously from a single drop of blood.  Travelers and immigrants could be screened for many pathogens simultaneously before being allowed entry into a country.  Also, gravely ill patients with nondescript symptoms could be diagnosed quickly at the point of care.