Arc Bio Awarded $1.9M SBIR Grant from NIH to Optimize its Galileo ONE Metagenomic Workflow for Cerebrospinal Fluid

CAMBRIDGE, MA, Feb 20, 2022 – Arc Bio announced this week that it has received $1.9 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the development of its Research Use Only Galileo ONE metagenomic next generation sequencing workflow for the detection and quantification of microbial species in primary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples.

The Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will allow the company to internally validate its sample-to-result workflow on both contrived and clinical CSF samples, as well as develop custom, integrated process controls.

“The product developed under this grant will expand the sample type compatibility of our Galileo platform, which has currently been optimized for plasma,” said CEO of Arc Bio, Dr. Todd Dickinson. “With each new sample type that we bring onboard, we move closer to achieving our goal of empowering all researchers and laboratorians to harness the power of metagenomics in their own facility.”

The first-generation Galileo ONE platform detects and quantifies over 1300 microbial species, including DNA and RNA viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites and is slated for launch in Q2 2022.

Arc Bio aims to create a healthier world by delivering robust sample-to-report microbial profiling workflows combined with data-driven health intelligence software tools to enable a new standard of care for disease detection and monitoring. Its Galileo™ platform represents the next generation of turnkey metagenomics solutions that combine next generation sequencing laboratory workflows with automated bioinformatics pipelines to deliver accurate, comprehensive, and quantitative microbial profiling. Arc Bio is based in Scotts Valley, California and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

For more information on Arc Bio, its technology and its service offerings visit www.arcbio.com