Atomo Diagnostics Limited has received a $2.44 million Collaborative Research Centers Grant to lead the development of a groundbreaking rapid test to diagnose active syphilis

Atomo Diagnostics Limited announced it has received a US$2.44 million Collaborative Research Center Projects (CRC-P) grant to develop an innovative rapid test for the diagnosis of active syphilis. The grant is the result of months of collaboration between Atomo and the Burnet Institute on an easy-to-use solution that addresses this important unmet clinical need. Atomo will lead the project, which will be a joint project combining the expertise of the Burnet Institute and the IDE group.

Designed for both professional point-of-care use and at-home self-testing, this unique test combines Atomo’s proven built-in Pascal cassette, which works with a small finger prick blood sample, and a unique antibody test to syphilis, developed by the Burnet Institute. This test can distinguish active infections from previously treated cases. This innovative rapid testing solution will be a global first: existing rapid syphilis tests only detect antibodies present in both active infections and previously treated infections, and there are currently no rapid self-testing syphilis tests approved in Australia .

Syphilis is an increasingly pressing public health problem worldwide, with WHO estimating that 8 million people will become infected with syphilis in 20222. A recent report from the Kirby Institute found that the rate of syphilis diagnoses in Australia has tripled over the past decade.