Aquila Diagnostic Systems

Aquila Diagnostic Systems is a molecular diagnostics company that developed a portable, low-cost polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform for point-of-care testing. Founded as a spin-off from the University of Alberta, the company focused on providing rapid diagnostic results in resource-limited settings and for military applications. Its core technology, a handheld thermal cycler, was designed to identify infectious diseases and biothreat agents with high sensitivity and specificity. In 2015, the company was acquired by Genedrive plc (formerly Epistem Holdings), which integrated Aquila's hardware with its own molecular assays to commercialize the Genedrive diagnostic system globally. The platform is currently utilized for the detection of Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, and various biodefense targets in decentralized environments.