Advance Live Animal Tests for the Early Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease

Submit your novel idea and win prizes.

About the Detect to Protect Challenge:
A Live Animal Test for CWD

Sensis, on behalf of The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), is hosting the Detect to Protect Challenge: A Live Animal Test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The challenge invites innovators to submit their idea for a diagnostic test for the early detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a live animal, prior to clinical signs.

Our goal is to inspire the innovative development of a novel diagnostic test that will successfully detect CWD in samples provided by USDA for this challenge. Competitive solutions to this challenge shall consist of novel diagnostic tests that are sensitive and specific for CWD, producing timely and repeatable results on samples easily obtained from live deer. Competitive solutions will also be cost-effective and readily manufacturable. The ideal solutions to this challenge are diagnostic tests that would be eligible for approval as an official Chronic Wasting Disease test by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA.

Sensis will award prizes valued up to $170,000. The Detect to Protect Challenge: A Live Animal Test is calling upon innovators and scientists, researchers, and/or startup companies to submit their proposal for developing a novel diagnostic test for the early detection of CWD in a live animal, prior to clinical signs.

Register for the Phase 1 Informational Webinar

A virtual webinar will be hosted on Friday, April 16th from 3pm-5pm ET to share more information about the challenge. Members of the challenge team will be speaking and sharing their vision and planned outcomes for this challenge. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered by the Detect to Protect Challenge team. If you are unable to attend this webinar, a recording will be shared on the challenge website after the conclusion of the webinar.

Detect to Protect: A Live Animal Test for CWD

Develop a diagnostic test for the early detection of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Develop a live animal diagnostic test and provide proof-of-concept data for the early detection of CWD that is eligible for consideration for approval as an official test by USDA-APHIS and the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

View Challenge Overview

Phase 1: Design Paper

Develop a submission entry describing how your solution will fundamentally improve our ability to a detect deer infected with CWD.

Phase 2: Experimentation and Early Development Stage

Successfully complete proof-of-concept using samples provided from healthy deer and deer naturally infected with CWD, and ultimately complete bench validation using a small number of blinded samples. .

Get Smart & Register Your Team

Read about the problem, submission requirements, and eligibility terms to participate in this prize challenge. Complete the registration form to set up your participant profile.

Develop your Concept

Learn about the Phase 1 submission requirements then submit your idea.

Submit your Entry

Log-in and complete your submission on the challenge platform by April 23, 2021.

$170,000 in Awards and Prizes

Phase 1 total prize pool: $70,000

Phase 2 total prize pool: $100,000

Win cash awards to develop proof-of-concept and expand your network.

Win prizes and the opportunity to work with USDA experts to develop your novel live-animal diagnostic or laboratory test.