Diagnostics Direct LLC Wins Innovation Award from Johns Hopkins

STONE HARBOR, N.J., May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Diagnostics Direct LLC, a leading provider of point-of-care tests for sexually transmitted infections based in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, has received an innovation award from the Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases (JH-CIDID) to advance the development of their 10-minute treponemal / nontreponemal syphilis point-of-care test. 

Advancing Syphilis Diagnostics

There is currently no FDA cleared and CLIA-waived test that simultaneously tests for treponemal and nontreponemal (lipoidal antigen) antibodies, largely due to the challenge in achieving the necessary nontreponemal sensitivity while suppressing non-specific binding that causes false positive nontreponemal results. This combined treponemal and nontreponemal test has the potential to enable healthcare providers to perform both types of serological testing needed for diagnosis of a current T. pallidum infection simultaneously at the patient's side.

"We are honored to be selected for an innovation award by the Johns Hopkins Centers for Innovative Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases to accelerate the development of our treponemal / nontreponemal syphilis test," said Norman Proulx, CEO, Diagnostics Direct. "This test represents a meaningful advancement in syphilis testing that will enable healthcare providers to test and treat immediately without having to send samples out for additional serology testing. This is especially significant in situations where patients may not return for results or follow-up care."

For information on Diagnostics Direct's current solutions and educational resources, visit www.diagnosticsdirect2u.com.

Award Details

• The 2025 JH-CIDID solicitation provided six innovation awards to advance novel diagnostics that expand use-cases for point-of-care tests for sexually transmitted infections. 
• Each award provides up to $150,000 in funding. 
• JHU-CIDID is funded by the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN) program, established by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under contract number 2U54EB007958-16.
• All subawards use funding under the authority of the parent grant mechanism administered under the NIBIB's POCTRN U54 contract.

About Diagnostics Direct, LLC

Diagnostics Direct, LLC, is a leader in the development and distribution of high-quality diagnostic tests for the detection of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Visit www.diagnosticsdirect2u.com for more information.

About the John Hopkins Center for Innovative Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases (JH-CIDID)

The vision of the Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases is to accelerate improvements in global public health through infectious disease diagnostics. Founded in 2007, JH-CIDID addresses priority infections including sexually transmitted infections, bloodborne pathogens, tuberculosis, treatable respiratory infections, viral hepatitis, diarrheal disease, and acute febrile illness/pathogens of pandemic potential. Embedded within the oldest medical research university in the United States, our mission is to promote the development of technologies to become fully commercialized products. Our Center promotes in-house diagnostic innovation as well as support to companies to accelerate development towardadoption and impactful use. Companies that have partnered with our Center, comprised of expert Johns Hopkins clinicians, scientists, and laboratorians, have gone on to raise more than $350 million in follow-on funding. We place a special emphasis on low-cost diagnostic innovation for the 'last mile' to improve the likelihood of adoption and public health impact in both the United States and in low-resource settings.

Our Center engages with developers all along the developmental pipeline. We offer a curated selection of services to help companies accelerate projects towards commercialization and real-world impact. These services include use-case and needs assessment consultations, benchtop evaluations, biorepository specimens, pre-clinical pilots, and a free online technology readiness assessment tool. Through an annual POCTRN solicitation and our expert services, we drive accessible infectious disease diagnostics through multidisciplinary innovation along the development pipeline from research to impact in different global settings.

Funding Acknowledgment: 

JH-CIDID is funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number U54EB007958 and is a member of the NIH Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN). The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

SOURCE Diagnostics Direct, LLC.