Prof. Prof. Carl Wittwer – the legendary creator of the PCR technology joins the Scope Fluidics Advisory Committee

Scope Fluidics – a biotechnological company listed on NewConnect, owner of innovative medical diagnostics projects – has appointed a new member of the Advisory Committee, Professor Carl Wittwer, a global pioneer in molecular diagnostics, one of the creators of the PCR technology. Prof. Wittwer – currently associated with the University of Utah, Medical School (the USA) – will support the Company in the technological development of its projects. At the same time, Professor Wittwer’s support will bring great global recognition to the Company.

Professor Carl Wittwer is one of the most important authorities in the field of molecular diagnostics technology. In the 1990s, he developed the first PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) system, which made it possible to identify genetic material in less than 15 minutes. He is a co-founder of Biofire Diagnostics, which was acquired by Bio Merieux in 2014 for USD 450 million.

Until recently, Professor Wittwer conducted research at the University of Utah, USA. His scientific publications are one of the key inspirations for Scope Fluidics scientists in developing the PCR|ONE system.

– When eight years ago we were discussing the concept of building a prototype of an ultra-rapid PCR device, we were inspired by the work of Professor Carl Wittwer, who is an unquestionable guru of the PCR technology and, above all, ultra-fast PCR. His publications motivated us to develop a practical way of implementing ultra-rapid gene detection reactions. We met Professor Wittwer at the AACC conference, where he gave a speech to the audience of thousands of people, while we presented the PCR | ONE system in the Innovation Zone. Prof. Wittwer took a keen interest in our system, visited our laboratory in Warsaw, and suggested some very interesting solutions in further discussions. The fact that he is now a member of our team and will support us with his knowledge and experience is a personal distinction and valuable support. – Comments Kamil Gewartowski, PhD, head of the PCR|ONE project in Curiosity Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Scope Fluidics

The American professor visited Scope Fluidics at the beginning of last year. He spent a few days getting acquainted with the development of the PCR|ONE system and shared his knowledge and experience at meetings with the Company’s team and a group of representatives of investment funds and consulting agencies.

Scope Fluidics is implementing two projects in the field of molecular diagnostics: the PCR|ONE system and the BacterOMIC system, which address key health care needs. Works on the PCR|ONE system are advanced, and the Company plans to complete the system’s CE-IVD certification and accelerated FDA EUA authorization procedure before the end of this year.

The PCR|ONE system performs fully automatic analysis of bacterial and viral genetic material. The product is unrivalled in terms of speed and complexity of analyses – it can recognize up to several dozen of pathogens within less than twenty minutes of sampling. Recently, the Company has drawn on the strengths of the PCR|ONE system and developed a four-gene test for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Currently, the PCR|ONE SARS CoV-2 panel is undergoing tests with clinical samples. The panel tests are conducted in a hospital laboratory, on swabs collected directly from patients. The aim of the initiated tests is to verify the effectiveness of the developed panel, which so far has obtained an in-house validation.

The second system, BacterOMIC, solves the problem of effective antibiotic treatment by responding to one of the greatest problems of modern medicine – antimicrobial resistance. Completion of certification and admission of the BacterOMIC system to the medical diagnostics market is planned for mid-2021 r.