Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) today announced a collaboration with Australia-based nanotech company Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd to speed up the development of lateral flow immunoassays.

Under the terms of the agreement Sona will supply its unique, proprietary gold nanorod technology to Anteo, which will combine it with its own proprietary AnteoBind ™ technology and various biomarkers including, but not limited to, cardic (cTnI), sepsis (CRP) markers and HCG, the well-known fertility marker used in pregnancy tests. Anteo will supply Sona with these solutions for assessment in a lateral flow assay format as well as conducting its own in-house assessment.

Because lateral flow assays are relatively cheap and easy to produce, more than 2 billion are manufactured every year, including more than 400 million each for malaria and HIV tests (1). The lateral flow market was worth an estimated US$6 billion (C$7.9 bn) in 2018 (2).

Sona Nanotech CEO Darren Rowles said: “The project aims to co-develop sets of reagents that can benefit all lateral flow assay developers worldwide, by providing them with products that can reduce a key production process timeframe, while increasing performance of tests and the benefits of multiplexing. By integrating Sona’s gold nanorod technology with Anteo’s surface chemistry technology we have the potential to create innovative new products for the market. We are excited to be working with Anteo and look forward to a productive collaboration.”

Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of Anteo Diagnostics Ltd, an ASX listed company (ASX:ADO). The company, which has its head office in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, develops and commercialises products in the life sciences research, in-vitro diagnostics, energy and medical devices markets.

Charlie Huang, Anteo’s head of research and development, said: “We have been impressed by Sona’s unique gold nanorods and their impact in the lateral flow market. We believe that our combined technologies have great potential. We are excited about the new opportunities this could bring for both companies.”

(1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324096920_Improving_Lateral_Flow_Assay_Performance_Using_Computational_Modeling

(2) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-lateral-flow-assay-market-is-projected-to-reach-usd-8-7-billion-by-2023-from-usd-6-0-billion-in-2018-growing-at-a-cagr-of-7-7-from-2018-to-2023–300754197.html

About Sona Nanotech Inc.

Sona Nanotech Inc. is a nanotechnology life sciences firm that has developed two proprietary methods for the manufacture of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles. The principal business carried out and intended to be continued by Sona is the development and application of its proprietary technology for use in multiplex diagnostic testing platforms that will improve performance over existing tests in the market.

Sona’s gold nanorod particles are CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium) free, eliminating the toxicity risks associated with the use of other gold nanorod technologies in medical applications. It is expected that Sona’s gold nanotechnologies may be adapted for use in applications, as a safe and effective delivery system for multiple medical treatments, pending the approval of various regulatory boards including Health Canada and the FDA.

Sona is a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange existing under the laws of Nova Scotia, with its operations in Nova Scotia.

About Anteo Group

Anteo Diagnostics Limited (ADO: ASX) & Subsidiaries (Anteo Technologies Pty Ltd is a fully-owned subsidiary of Anteo Diagnostics Ltd.)

Anteo Group is a surface chemistry company with Intellectual Property (“IP”) in its core technology product groups: AnteoCoat™, AnteoBind™ and AnteoRelease™. The Company’s purpose is to create shareholder value by identifying and solving important global industry problems and providing unique value-add solutions for its customers. Anteo’s customers operate in the Life Sciences, Diagnostics, Energy and Medical Devices markets.