THRM big news out: Therma Bright and Orpheus Identify Novel Biological Detection Molecules for COVID-19 Rapid Test
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 3, 2020) - Therma Bright Inc. (TSXV: THRM) ("Therma" or the "Company"), a progressive medical device technology company, is pleased to announce that its co-development partner, Orpheus Medica Inc. ("Orpheus") has identified a series of polypeptides for the screening and detection of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19.
The research carried out by Orpheus and its academic collaborators has resulted in several high-quality polypeptides that recognize the COVID-19 virus with clear distinction from other coronavirus types such as SARS or MERS. These biological molecules will form the basis of the CoviSafe™ that is being developed to screen and detect the proteins of the virus rather than its genetic material. Therma and Orpheus expect to provide additional test formats where the user can test and differentiate between COVID-19 and seasonal flu symptoms.
Recently, Health Canada announced that it will be taking applications for home testing devices for screening purposes for COVID-19.
CoviSafe™ is a screening test designed to monitor large populations of healthy individuals that are asymptomatic for the COVID-19 illness. CoviSafe™ can also be used as a diagnostic test to investigate individuals with COVID-like symptoms. CoviSafe™ will have a number of quality control features to avoid misuse or misinterpretation of home-based test results, which address a number of Health Canada's concerns as outlined in the article by the National Post. Therma and Orpheus will be carrying out field evaluation testing to determine test performance in different settings. The goal is to provide our solution for routine and widespread testing at schools, workplaces, sporting events or at home.
Dr. Saeid Babaei, Chairman & CEO of Orpheus commented: "We are excited to identify and validate the first series of our polypeptides in collaboration with our academic partners in a timely fashion. The detection molecules discovered to-date have already been validated in a COVID-19 model in the laboratory. Our plan is to further validate these results on the device platform as the next step in coming weeks."
Mr. Rob Fia, CEO of Therma Bright, commented: "We believe that CoviSafe™ can be developed as a low cost, saliva-based solution, that produces fast and accurate results for use at point of care or home, school, business or sporting event applications. We are excited for the potential to incorporate features that identify whether someone has COVID-19 or the seasonal flu. Therma and Orpheus believe this goal is the game changer that the world is looking for to get back to normalcy."
About Therma Bright Inc.
Therma Bright is a progressive medical device technology company focused on providing consumers and medical professionals with quality medical devices that address their medical and healthcare needs. The Company's initial breakthrough proprietary technology delivers effective, non-invasive and pain-free skincare. Therma Bright received a Class II medical device status from the FDA for its platform technology that is indicated for the relief of the pain, itch, and inflammation of a variety of insect bites or stings. The Company received clearance for the above claims from the US FDA in 1997.
Therma Bright Inc. trades on the TSXV (TSXV: THRM). For more information visit: www.thermabright.com and www.coldsores.com.
About Orpheus Medica Inc.
Orpheus Medica is a fully integrated research-driven Canadian biotech company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative diagnostic and therapeutics for unmet medical needs. Orpheus, with its fully integrated R&D infrastructure, provides strategic partners and collaborators access to its proven and proprietary discovery and development of novel biopharmaceutical products. Our team has over 15 years of proven and validated computational capabilities for analysis and optimization of single-domain antibodies and other polypeptides.
For further information, please contact:
Therma Bright Rob Fia, CEO rfia@thermabright.com
Orpheus Medica. Saeid Babaei, Chairman & CEO sbabaei@orpheusmed.com
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