NIH announces challenge seeking new tests to curb resistant bacteria

The NIH announced the launch of a federal prize competition calling for novel ideas for rapid laboratory diagnostic tests to assist in combating the development and spread of drug-resistant bacteria, according to a press release.

The competition, known as the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge, will award $20 million to contestants who develop new innovative laboratory diagnostic tools for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, bacteria that cause at least 2 million infections and 23,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the CDC.

“The growing incidence of serious infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria presents a critical risk to the public health of our nation,” NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, said in the release. “My hope is that this competition will spur exceptional innovators to rise to the challenge and deliver effective tools to help manage this significant problem.”

In the competition’s first phase, applicants must submit concepts by Jan. 9. Of these, up to 20 semifinalists will be selected, each receiving up to $50,000 for their concept. In the second phase — held on Dec. 3, 2018 — up to 10 finalists will be selected to each receive up to $100,000. These monies can be used to develop prototypes for evaluation by two Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment-certified independent laboratories, which will be considered when winners are selected. Up to three winners can be selected, and winners will share at least $18 million, according to the release.

For the competition, the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) each contributed $10 million; the CDC and FDA provided technical and regulatory expertise in the competition’s design; and stakeholder input via a public workshop assisted in the technical criteria, objectives and performance characteristics of diagnostics that will be considered for the prize.

Winners will be announced in the final phase on July 31, 2020. – by Jennifer Byrne

Reference:

NIH, BARDA and HHS. Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge. https://www.cccinnovationcenter.com/challenges/antimicrobial-resistance-diagnostic-challenge/. Accessed September 20, 2016.

Disclosure: Collins is employed by the NIH.

Scanning electron micrograph of neutrophil ingesting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.

Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases