DALLAS - Dec. 22, 2021 - PRLog -- BioLum Sciences has been awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant ($251,943) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to conduct research and development on a chemiluminescent assay and Device for Monitoring Vascular Endogenous Nitric Oxide.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and costs the U.S. $219B+ annually. Vascular endogenous nitric oxide (VeNO) is fundamentally important for healthy cardiovascular function, used to regulate blood pressure and promote healthy function, but VeNO levels are mis-regulated in many diseases including heart disease, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, and stroke. Numerous therapies that target Nitric Oxide Signaling are approved and under clinical investigation, for example nitroglycerin, Viagra, and Adempas, but identifying which of these medicines will most improve a patients' health remains challenging. A lack of methods to directly measure VeNO levels at the point-of- care (POC) is a critical barrier to advancing basic research, patient stratification in trials, identifying clinical benefits, and advancing new therapies. A simple way to measure vascular endogenous nitric oxide (VeNO) will facilitate early identification, prevention, and therapeutic guidance of cardiovascular disease. This is of urgent interest to clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry. BioLum's point-of-care chemiluminescent assay platform to measure VeNO directly using a finger-prick of blood will address this need, allowing patients to more closely manage their condition, streamlining therapy development, and providing clinicians personalized cardiovascular data.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to expand our biomarker testing platform. The award comes at a perfect transition period as we near completion on the commercial development of our breath analysis test for chronic respiratory disease. From the beginning, our mission has been to develop a diagnostic and management platform to be used at the point-of-care for a broad array of chronic diseases. Successfully executing this plan positions BioLum well, allowing us to extend the platform's capabilities and enabling further value creation with our technology." – BioLum Sciences CEO, Edward Allegra

About BioLum
BioLum is a development firm that specializes in bioanalytical chemistry & point-of-care medical device development for chronic disease. BioLum's novel technology and advanced chemical systems provide a 'window into the body' by measuring biomarkers found in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and blood, using disposable, luminescent assay cartridges with a point-of- care, low-cost device. This proprietary technology allows patients and physicians to monitor treatment progression in real-time on a desktop computer or mobile device, while also providing researchers & clinicians with tools to develop & personalize treatments for patients with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as asthma, COPD, hypertension, & heart failure. BioLum's first product, the BioSense AMD, is a point-of-care, low-cost device that analyzes respiratory inflammation in real time. BioLum's second test in the development pipeline is the BioSense VeNO for cardiovascular disease, a unique finger-prick blood test that provides an instant readout of endothelial dysfunction and will transform cardiovascular healthcare.

About the SBIR and STTR Programs:
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are highly competitive programs that encourage domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR and STTR enable small businesses to explore their technological potential and provide the incentive to profit from its commercialization. STTR's most important role is to bridge the gap between performance of basic science and commercialization of resulting innovations.

About NIH:
An agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the Federal focal point for health research. NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. Research and information reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R41GM140575. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health.