Thursday, September 11, 2014

Zenosense, Inc. (ZENO) MRSA “Smoke Detector” is a Potential Game Changer

Director of the Office of Antimicrobial Resistance at the CDC, Dr. Steve Solomon, recently told Medical News Today that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in the last seven decades is accelerating the evolution of bacterial resistance. Citing research which shows that as much as half the time antibiotics are prescribed to treat microorganisms like bacteria, fungi and parasites inappropriately, either due to the wrong dosage or simply because it is unnecessary, Dr. Solomon made a strong case which was corroborated by the conclusions of World Health Organization Coordinator of Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr. Charles Penn, who cited incorrect usage of antibiotics as a main driver of the increasing resistance being observed.

The rise in recent years of CA-MRSA, or community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (as opposed to cases of MRSA originating from exposure in a health care setting, or HA-MRSA, often referred to as a Healthcare-Acquired Infection, or HIA), is of particular concern in light of new findings contained in a report by Washington University School of Medicine’s Dr. Stephanie Fritz and her colleagues in JAMA Pediatrics, which highlights that household surfaces we commonly come into contact with on daily basis represent a key source of dangerous reservoirs for “SA isolates that cause infections in children.” TV remotes, as well as bathroom hand towels and bed linens, were the most frequent sources cited, and a follow-up study is planned to make more accurate determinations as to the specific dynamics of bacterial spread.

Enter Zenosense, which is developing what is essentially an artificial nose capable of continuously “smelling” the signature spectrum of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by MRSA/SA expression in a given patient. Using a single, standard sensor and standard components, in combination with a proprietary chip pre-loaded with unique processing software that allows one sensor to do the work that would normally require anywhere from 8 to 32 sensors, ZENO is targeting two primary device formats, a low-cost wearable/bed-mounted format using rechargeable batteries and a mains powered fixed device format.

The incredible capacity of this device design, using one sensor to virtualize the typically necessary hardware of multiple sensors (and their related support systems/power supplies required to scan the entire VOC spectrum), means ZENO is estimating mass scale production capability in the range of under $100 per device, with the potential to go as low as $50. The commercial potential of such a cost-effective solution is huge consider the current state-of-the-art is represented by devices like Cepheid’s (NASDAQ: CPHD) Xpert®, which still requires about an hour to get a reading, or Roche’s (OTC: RHHBY) cobas® 4800 System-enabled MRSA/SA Test that, while more rapid and highly accurate, is costly, and still takes considerable time to get a reading compared to something like real-time detector.

ZENO’s core IP is versatile as well, as evinced by their announcement in late July 2014 of the start on developing a lung cancer detection device with partner Sgenia Group’s Zenon Biosystem subsidiary, in parallel with their MRSA/SA sniffer, utilizing many of the same design and detection principles. This lung cancer detection device would be paradigm shattering in a manner similar to the advent of ZENO’s MRSA/SA detection device, especially considering that the high fatality rate among lung cancer patients is due in large part to it typically being caught in late-stage phases, when less than a quarter of cases can be cured. The Zenosense lung cancer device could pave the way for a remarkable turnaround lung cancer survivability, with a 70% cure rate if lung cancer can be detected in Stage 1 representing a clear target for long-term commercial prospects.

More info on Zenosense is available at www.zenosense.net

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