Seattle-based InBios International, a biotech focused on the development of diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, received a $16.5 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
InBios will utilize the funding to develop the first FDA-approved test for melioidosis, a potentially deadly bacterial infection caused by Burkholderia psuedomallei, a bacterium that can be used as a biological weapon. According to the CDC, Melioidosis often presents as a lung infection with symptoms like a cough, fever or headache, and can spread by breathing contaminated droplets or having contact with contaminated soil and water.
InBios International’s development of this test is one of many collaborations between Seattle biotechs and national health organizations this year.