Compact Liquid Chromatography for Routine Screening in Drug Treatment Centers

Project Summary The overall technical goal of the predicate Phase I project is to adapt a compact, simple-to-operate capillary liquid chromatography (LC) platform based on Axcend’s compact Focus LC for near real-time sensitive and accurate screening of patients for drugs of abuse (DOA) usage, which would deliver essential analytical information to clinicians in point-of-care (POC) facilities (i.e., pain clinics and drug treatment centers) immediately after patient urine samples are taken. The goal is to provide much more timely and effective treatment to patients undergoing drug rehabilitation compared to the current alternatives characterized by sophisticated technology, inadequate specificity, and/or long turn-around time. This will be accomplished by modifying the LC platform and developing simple, automated, robust sample preparation workflows and devices. This development will address a critical need in the healthcare industry for patients requiring treatment for abuse drug use. The overall business goal of our predicate Phase I project and, therefore, the motivation behind our proposed participation in the I- Corps program, is to identify the best potential markets for the main product of Axcend, i.e., the Axcend Focus LC, and to provide ideas to best market the instrument to businesses involved in DOA treatment. From I-Corps instructor suggestions and the many interviews that will be conducted, we expect to identify the most fruitful markets to address as well as specific modifications to the product that can be made at this stage of its development to make it more suitable and attractive to the various markets. The I-Corps team and company in general understand the value of the I-Corps program. We believe that participation in I-Corps is extremely valuable, if not essential, for us to reach the marketing goals desired by us and expected by the SBIR grant program. Financial support from the I-Corps program would greatly assist us in fulfilling the commitments of participation. The I-Corps team members understand the commitment required to participate in this cohort and are prepared to immerse themselves in the program.