Federal Grant Award Summary

Luna Bioscience, Inc., a woman-owned small business based in Westport, Connecticut, received a $300,435 Project Grant awarded on September 24, 2025, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The project extends through August 31, 2027, and focuses on developing solid-phase antibody-detection assays for the diagnosis of acute leptospirosis, a disease with an estimated 5–20% case fatality rate that represents a significant health concern for U.S. military personnel, returning travelers, and populations in subtropical regions of the United States.

The primary deliverables include an antibody-detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using recombinant virulence-modifying protein (VMP) antigens capable of detecting pathogen-specific immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G antibodies as early as four days post-infection. Luna Bioscience will develop both referral laboratory-based assays and rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests to address the unmet clinical need for early, actionable diagnosis of acute leptospirosis. Preliminary data demonstrate that the VMP-based ELISA outperforms standard diagnostic methods, including culture, microscopic agglutination testing, and polymerase chain reaction, in identifying acute leptospiral infections in both experimentally-infected animal models and naturally acquired human infections.