Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics Validates Efficacy of PrimeStore® Molecular Transport Medium (MTM) to Inactivate Deadly Pathogens

Study conducted in collaboration with NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

By inactivating several high-consequence pathogens, PrimeStore^® MTM facilitates robust disease diagnosis and surveillance across different laboratory settings

BETHESDA, Md. & GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, a One Health company developing vaccines and diagnostic tools for global public health and zoonosis concerns, today announced a landmark study, conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), that confirmed the activity of PrimeStore^® Molecular Transport Medium (MTM) to inactivate a number of high-consequence pathogens. These pathogens include Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, eastern equine encephalitis, Ebola, Hendra, Japanese encephalitis, Lassa, Marburg, Nipah, Rift Valley fever, and West Nile viruses.

The study, titled “Successful Inactivation of High-Consequence Pathogens in PrimeStore Molecular Transport Media” and published in the journal Viruses, validates PrimeStore MTM's ability to safely and efficiently inactivate dangerous pathogens, supporting robust disease diagnosis and surveillance across different laboratory settings. PrimeStore MTM stands out as the only molecular transport media cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for inactivating both DNA and RNA associated with viral pathogens.

“Working with a research team at NIAID on this research study marks an important milestone that substantiates the technology behind PrimeStore MTM and Longhorn as a pillar of infectious disease expertise,” said Gerald W. Fischer, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics. “By combining proven pathogen inactivation with the preservation of nucleic acids at ambient temperatures, PrimeStore MTM is the ideal diagnostic device for protecting medical and laboratory personnel from viral pathogens, simplifying workflows, and reducing diagnostic costs.”

NIAID’s evaluation of PrimeStore MTM, a state-of-the-art ambient temperature molecular diagnostic collection and transport device, confirmed its effectiveness for inactivating ten high-risk pathogens. Results demonstrated that PrimeStore MTM inactivated all tested viruses at titers up to 10⁷ TCID₅₀/mL, underscoring its reliability for enhancing biosafety in diagnostics, outbreak management, and surveillance. PrimeStore MTM successfully handled isolates of Risk Group 3 and 4 pathogens spiked in human blood samples, effectively minimizing risk of human exposure during sample collection, transport, and processing.

“From my experience as a diagnostic laboratory director, I know the challenges of keeping staff safe while operating the lab efficiently,” said Jerry Torrison, D.V.M., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Animal Health at Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics. “The results of this study highlight the value of PrimeStore MTM to achieve these goals when working with extremely dangerous pathogens.”

About Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics

Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics is a closely held One Health company based in Maryland that is developing broad coverage vaccines and diagnostic tools for worldwide public health concerns such as anti-microbial resistance, sepsis and to prevent future pandemics. Since its inception in 2006, Longhorn has focused on developing broad coverage vaccines and diagnostic tools that can impact a pandemic on a global scale and at all socio-economic levels. Since pandemics flow between humans and animals, Longhorn products play a significant role to surveil, diagnose, prevent, and treat the next infectious disease.

Longhorn’s core diagnostic product, PrimeStore^® Molecular Transport Medium (MTM), is a patented, FDA cleared, state-of-the-art ambient temperature molecular diagnostic collection and transport device that can help governments, global health organizations, and drug manufacturers improve the diagnosis and treatment of highly infectious diseases such as influenza, COVID-19, and tuberculosis. Unlike standard devices for collecting and transporting virus samples, PrimeStore® MTM is the first molecular transport device that can safely deactivate pathogens and stabilize RNA and DNA, allowing enhanced point-of-care and ambient-temperature transport for laboratory-based molecular testing and characterization.