Sona Nanotech Inc. Signs Agreement to Develop Innovative New Point of Care Tests for Infectious Diseases

Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE:SONA) has signed a collaboration agreement with a UK medical diagnostics company to develop new highly sensitive point of care diagnostic tests for infectious diseases.

OLM Diagnostics, based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, manufactures, markets and distributes innovations in fungal and bacterial diagnostics to the healthcare sector. Its international network of clinicians, investors and stakeholders in the sector ensure its products have the best chance of success.

OLM wants to develop new, rapid, multiplexed lateral flow assays to detect infectious diseases in humans, helping doctors in primary diagnosis. The company believes Sona’s unique gold nanorods can help it develop quicker and more sensitive tests for infectious diseases than those currently on the market.

Long-term research shows that outbreaks of infectious diseases are rising around the world. [1] According to World Bank estimates, the annual global cost of moderately severe to severe pandemics is roughly US $570 billion, or 0.7% of global income. [2] The infectious disease diagnostics market is forecast to be worth more than US $20 billion by 2024. [3]

Sona Nanotech manufactures gold nanorods that can produce a variety of colours when integrated into a test strip, making them ideal for multiplexing. The nanorods also offer higher sensitivity and better performance than many existing reagents.

Darren Rowles, Sona’s CEO, said: “OLM is an established brand in the market place with a strong reputation and an excellent track record of developing rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests for medical areas that are poorly served, such as fungal infections. With our combined technologies I am certain we can produce tests for infectious diseases that improve on those currently on the market and offer real solutions to medical practitioners. This collaboration has the potential to increase Sona’s reach into valuable new markets.”

Gemma Johnson, scientific director of OLM Diagnostics, said: “At OLM we like to work with carefully selected partners to ensure the right teams are in place to progress products through to commercialisation. In Sona we have found an excellent partner. Sona has unique technology with advantages over existing offerings that can have a huge impact on the lateral flow market. The potential improvements in test performance and ability to multiplex simply and quickly could provide us with the ability to generate a device ready for clinical evaluation in a matter of months.”

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-infections-by-the-numbers/

[2] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/05/how-epidemics-infect-the-global-economy-and-what-to-do-about-it/

[3] https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/infectious-disease-diagnostics-market-to-surpass-us-20-billion-by-2024-2019-02-19

About Sona Nanotech Inc.

Sona Nanotech Inc. is a nanotechnology life sciences firm that has developed two proprietary methods for the manufacture of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles. The principal business carried out and intended to be continued by Sona is the development and application of its proprietary technology for use in multiplex diagnostic testing platforms that will improve performance over existing tests in the market.

Sona’s gold nanorod particles are CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium) free, eliminating the toxicity risks associated with the use of other gold nanorod technologies in medical applications. It is expected that Sona’s gold nanotechnologies may be adapted for use in applications, as a safe and effective delivery system for multiple medical treatments, pending the approval of various regulatory boards including Health Canada and the FDA.

Sona is a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange existing under the laws of Nova Scotia, with its operations in Nova Scotia.

About OLM Diagnostics

OLM Diagnostics is a medical diagnostics company that manufactures, markets and distributes innovations in fungal and bacterial diagnostics to the healthcare sector. Founded in 2014, OLM works with a range of clinical and academic partners to produce novel and reliable rapid diagnostic tests for medical areas that are currently poorly served.

For More Information

For more information about Sona, please contact:
Darren Rowles
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (902) 442-7192
Email: Darren Rowles darren@sonanano.com

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