Meet the Phase 3 winners of the LymeX Diagnostics Prize.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. An estimated 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme each year — but the true number of infections is unknown, partially due to the limitations of serological testing. The LymeX Diagnostics Prize, a $10+ million competition to accelerate the development of Lyme disease diagnostics, is fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration and helping novel testing strategies overcome diagnostic development barriers with prize funds and technical assistance. This month, the prize announced five Phase 3 winners; each winning team will be awarded $420,000. Congratulations to the winners:

• BlueArc Biosciences Inc. (La Jolla, California). An ultrasensitive and specific blood test for the direct detection of B. burgdorferi infection from the first symptoms of Lyme disease using standard laboratory equipment.
• Drexel University College of Medicine (Philadelphia). A small-volume serum test using glycan biomarkers to detect active Lyme disease infection and track treatment response.
• HelixBind Inc. (Boxborough, Massachusetts). A direct-from-blood molecular assay that can detect DNA from intact Borrelia spirochetes utilizing a proprietary, readily automated sample-to-answer process.
• Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston). A plasma and extracellular fluid test depleting human background material from samples and detecting low-abundance nucleic acid from tick-borne pathogens.
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (led by Jutras Lab, formerly at Virginia Tech) (Chicago). A test using monoclonal antibodies in conjunction with both immuno-PCR and lateral flow to rapidly detect a unique B. burgdorferi biomarker in blood and urine.

By using a prize competition model, the LymeX Diagnostics Prize offers cash prizes alongside a range of non-monetary resources — while also fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration. In Phase 3, industry supporters Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics provided non-financial in-kind support, helping teams deepen their understanding of the diagnostics industry, how clinical laboratories operate, and how to work with commercial laboratories. In Phase 4, invited teams will execute their clinical validation plans, and complete regulatory submissions to the FDA, awarding up to $3 million in prizes.

The goal of this multiphase LymeX Innovation Accelerator (LymeX) competition is to nurture the development of diagnostics toward Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review and clearance. The LymeX Innovation Accelerator (LymeX) was established through a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. The LymeX Diagnostics Prize is made possible thanks to a more than $10 million pledge from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.