YORK: Abingdon Health plc (AIM: ABDX), a leading international developer and manufacturer of high quality and effective rapid tests, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with DeepVerge plc (AIM: DVRG) (“DeepVerge”), an environmental and life science group that develops and applies AI and IoT technology for the analysis and identification of bacteria, virus and toxins, leading to a commercial agreement for development and manufacture of a range of lateral flow tests (“LFTs”) for DeepVerge’s Modern Water and Life Science divisions.
The MoU has been signed to enable the potential integration of the respective technologies of both DeepVerge and Abingdon. DeepVerge and Abingdon intend to enter into a longer-term commercial agreement, with Abingdon manufacturing and DeepVerge commercialising the new products through its production, sales, marketing and distribution channel partners around the world.
Modern Water
Modern Water is the environmental division of DeepVerge that has developed and commercialised cutting-edge technology focused on monitoring of contaminated water and decontamination of wastewater. Abingdon and DeepVerge will work on the development of LFT devices to detect dangerous pathogens and chemicals in household drinking and wastewater.
This will add an extra layer of detection to the current Modern Water range of equipment and services by incorporating an LFT into a hand-held mobile unit. The results of these LFT devices can be digitally scanned using a mobile app, with the potential to incorporate Abingdon’s proprietary AppDx® technology.
Future potential developments for water testing that are complementary to the current Modern Water portfolio include the pepper mottle mosaic virus as a potential marker for human faecal matter in water and the automated multiplexing project bringing in influenza A, influenza B, Cryptosporidium etc. into the testing format on a hand-held device.
Life Science
Abingdon and DeepVerge will also collaborate on the development of new lateral flow tests to be added to DeepVerge’s life science home test portfolio, including hormone analysis related to menopause and associated skin changes, stress levels (cortisol), vitamin D, and other health markers related to conditions including diabetes, heart and liver function.
Gerard Brandon, CEO of DeepVerge plc, commented: “DeepVerge’s business model is built on collaborating and cooperating with partners such as Abingdon Health who have technologies and large production capacity to deliver solutions to major societal problems such as water contamination and the identification of human biomarkers for a range of health conditions. Surveillance and testing of waterways for the presence of bacteria and viruses has gained worldwide recognition and this collaboration is yet another example of the diagnostics industry working together to rapidly bring effective solutions in the increasing global health risks.”
Chris Yates, CEO of Abingdon Health plc, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the DeepVerge team to deliver a range of lateral flow tests that have the ability to monitor household water and wastewater for a range of dangerous pathogens, as well as providing innovative new tests to supplement DeepVerge’s life science home test portfolio. Our facilities in the UK have a large capacity and we are excited to develop these new products to play a key role in maintaining health in the home.”