ArcanaBio, announced today that it has been awarded a grant of ISK 50 million (approximately USD 380,000) by the Icelandic Technology Development Fund (Tækniþróunarsjóður).
The substantial two-year grant, effective from 2022 through 2024, will provide vital financial support for the firm's ambitious research project on rapid food pathogen detection systems.
In a collaborative endeavour with MATIS Iceland and Landspitali University Hospital, ArcanaBio aims to develop swift and effective diagnostic methods for common food pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes.
"We're thrilled to have the support of the Icelandic Technology Development Fund yet again but now for this critical research project to enhance food safety" said Kristján Már Gunnarsson, CEO of ArcanaBio. "Food-borne diseases are a significant public health concern, and our work aims to improve the speed and accuracy of food pathogen testing and at the same time give food manufacturers better tools and far better oversight over the quality of their produce."
The company's proposed research focuses on developing rapid diagnostic tests that can provide results in a fraction of the time required by current culturing methods. The objective of this initiative is to revolutionize the process of identifying harmful pathogens, aiming for a more cost-effective, swift, and efficient method for testing that allows allows for continuous testing. This will hopefully in the future equip food manufacturers with superior quality assurance systems, marking a significant advancement in the path towards the exciting use of high-throughput testing within industrial genomics.