Dec. 5, 2006 — Nanogen Inc., a San Diego developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced it has been awarded a $4.5 million contract from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a unique multi-analyte Point-Of-Care (POC) diagnostic assay for influenza in support of the U.S. Government’s efforts to strengthen its readiness for a potential influenza pandemic.

The goal of the development is to employ Nanogen technology in a low cost, high sensitivity POC immunoassay that simultaneously detects Influenza Type A, Type B, seasonal flu (H1N1 and H3N2) and avian flu (H5N1) in a simple to use assay format. This development program is partnered with HX Diagnostics, Inc., which will commercialize the product upon approval. The current award of $4.5 million funds the first two phases of a five-phase development project and, if all five phases are funded by the CDC, can total approximately $12.5 million over the next two to three years.

The Nanogen product under development is a third generation high sensitivity lateral flow test designed to be accurate, highly portable, and simple to use yet with a cost similar to current influenza POC tests sold today. The immunoassay technology underlying the design builds upon that employed in Nanogen’s current cardiac infarction products, which are capable of delivering results at the point of care in as little as 15 minutes.