€ 1.9 million for new diagnostic Lyme test

The ID-LYME project that will bring a novel Lyme Borreliosis test to the market, was awarded a 1.9 million grant by the Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation scheme.

Catalyze was responsible for writing the grant proposal and is proud to have played a part in gaining funding for such a ground-breaking product.

Lyme Borreliosis, also known as Lyme disease, is one of the most frequent tick-borne infectious diseases worldwide with over 200,000 new infections each year in Western Europe alone. Treatments with antibiotics are most effective early after onset of the disease. If left untreated however, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system, causing severe complications. Timely treatment would reduce the impact of Lyme Borreliosis on people’s lives tremendously, as well as the associated healthcare costs, now estimated to be 660 million euros per year in the EU alone.

Market launch in 2019

The ID-LYME project is based on a proof of concept study and pre-clinical work performed by Dutch company Innatoss, that develops diagnostics for infectious diseases. Their technology exploits the biomarker production of T cells to detect Lyme Borreliosis as early and distinct as possible. The full consortium consists of the Medical University of Vienna (AU), DIARECT AG (DE), npk design and Innatoss Laboratories (NL).The ID-Lyme project will run for 3 years and result in market launch of the new cellular test in 2019. Other companies, medical centres, diagnostic laboratories and patient organizations will be involved during the whole development period.

The project was awarded a 1.9 million grant by the Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation scheme.