SBIR Grant Awarded to Third Wave Agbio for GM DetectionSBIR Grant Awarded to Third Wave Agbio for GM Detection

SBIR Grant Awarded to Third Wave Agbio for GM Detection

MADISON, Wis.--Third Wave Agbio Inc. was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to research detection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agricultural food crops. The $100,000 grant will be used to develop a detection method for GMO sequences to differentiate GMO crops from unmodified crops.

"As the reliance on genetically engineered crops continues to increase, the ability to identify and distinguish them from unmodified crops is a major consideration for grain producers, grain handlers, food manufacturers and consumers," said Glen Donald, chief executive officer of Third Wave Agbio. "Our research will focus on filling the need to easily detect genetically engineered crops with the simple, accurate and easy to use Invader product platform."

If this project is successful, the company may be eligible for a Phase II grant of $750,000 to develop additional Invader products for detecting GMOs in corn, soybean and canola crops. Invader products are scalable and automatable for large-scale and small-scale applications including genotyping, marker assisted selection, transgene detection and quantification, zygosity testing, screening for disease-related mutations and gene expression analysis. For more information, contact the company at (608) 663-7060.