Medicortex Finland Plc signed a 1.4 million dollars research grant contract with the U.S. Department of Defense

The grant provides funding for the development of a biochemical test for detection of TBI and concussion. Underdiagnosis of brain injury is a global medical issue, hence the project will address the urgent need to rapidly and reliably diagnose mild TBI and concussion. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) through the Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program.

The project is titled “Point-of-injury diagnosis of traumatic brain injury using saliva” and the plan for 18 months aims at developing a new test strip capable of detecting brain injury biomarkers in saliva, allowing for non-invasive testing of TBI. The project is commencing in June 2024.

The plan went through a stringent qualification process comprising full scientific and programmatic review at DoD. Medicortex has previously had two DoD-funded projects; in one of them novel brain injury biomarkers were characterized in patient samples, and the second ongoing project aims at developing a urine test for TBI detection. The new third project serves as a continuum of the previous projects by incorporating the biomarker towards practical diagnostic use in a different body fluid sample.

Dr. Adrian Harel, CEO of Medicortex says: “To my knowledge, we are the only company in Finland that has ever received three consecutive grants from the U.S. DoD - we are very proud and privileged to be selected for such an important grant.”

Dr. Harel adds: “Medicortex is an outstanding company. We are tackling a global problem through developing diagnostics for head injury. We have been successful in the very difficult space of translating an idea through research to the clinic stage.”

The company has accomplished three clinical studies and received funding from institutions such as U.S. Department of Defense, Business Finland, European Union, ELY-center as well as from 280 investors.

“The company has benefited from strong board leadership and very professional team combined with a strong group of consultants working together with the management to successfully meet the milestones”, Dr. Harel concludes.

Forward-looking statements

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Acknowledgement and about the grant

The work is supported by The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs endorsed by the Department of Defense, in the amount of $1,395,898, through the Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program - Translational Research Award, under Award No. HT94252410618. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs or the Department of Defense.