CDC NIOSH early technology to detect surface contamination by hazardous antineoplastic drugs. Antineoplastic drugs, also known as anti-cancer drugs or chemotherapy, are used in the treatment of many types of cancer. While these drugs are lifesaving to patients, they must be handled with care by healthcare workers. Exposure from contaminated surfaces and drug vials can cause skin problems, birth defects, reproductive issues, and increased risk of various cancers. NIAID TTIPO has helped to improve the handling of these drugs by leveraging patenting and licensing expertise to advance the development and commercialization of new rapid detection kits.

Currently, an estimated 8 million U.S. healthcare workers are potentially exposed to antineoplastic drugs. Traditional sampling methods to test for surface contamination produce results in several weeks, involve significant expense, and require analysis in a laboratory.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed technology to rapidly detect three commonly used antineoplastic drugs. (The technology is applicable to many types of antineoplastic drugs.) CDC initially developed the lateral flow immunoassay that allows sampling of surfaces to assess drug contamination.

CDC NIOSH’s Research to Practice (r2p) Office, CDC’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO), and the CDC Team at NIAID Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office (TTIPO) leveraged multiple mechanisms, resources, and activities to successfully transfer this technology, including patent protection, a conference presentation, marketing at additional conferences and via websites, multiple agreements and two licenses.

CDC NIOSH’s partners at Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD) licensed, further developed, and incorporated the technology into a portable device. The resulting tool, the BD™ HD Check system, can analyze samples for doxorubicin and methotrexate (two common chemotherapy drugs) and provide reliable results in less than 10 minutes. It empowers healthcare workers to test surfaces when and where needed — and quickly determine the level of contamination in areas where hazardous antineoplastic drugs are present.

In April 2018, BD launched the HD Check system in the U.S. to strong interest from the pharmacy and nursing communities. BD expects to make the product commercially available in Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia. NIOSH and BD are continuing research to incorporate additional hazardous drugs in the rapid detection kits.

BD launched the BD™ HD Check system, the first and only rapid hazardous drug detection system, in the U.S. in April 2018. The commercial product reflects a successful transfer of a CDC NIOSH technology.

Also the winner of the 2019 FLC Southeast Regional Award: Excellence in Technology Transfer Project of the Year.