Galaxy Diagnostics is a privately held medical laboratory located in Research Triangle Park offering the only testing solutions powered by revolutionary sample enrichment technologies for elusive flea and tick-borne pathogens. The company’s mission is to “Go Beyond” the limits of conventional detection by driving scientific innovation, creating new clinical knowledge through research and publication, and providing medical education and excellent customer support to healthcare providers, veterinarians, patients, and research customers in this important area of emerging infectious disease.
As a social venture and a One Health company, we are passionate about protecting the animal-human bond through the surveillance, prevention and clinical management of diseases shared by humans and animals. Based on our deep scientific expertise, we offer the best possible molecular and serology tests available for each of our pathogen targets. We also generate new knowledge about emerging infectious diseases, such as Bartonella infection (cat scratch disease), Borrelia infection (Lyme disease), and other flea- and tick-borne diseases through close partnerships with healthcare providers, veterinarians, and researchers.
Our Mission
Our mission is to offer the most sensitive and specific diagnostic tests and testing strategies that “go beyond the limits of detection” for emerging infectious diseases. To this end, we are deploying sample enrichment technologies that power direct detection of slow-growing, low abundance flea and tick-borne infections that often fly under the radar of conventional testing. In the process, we are working hard to research, educate, and build awareness about several important vector-borne diseases, like bartonellosis and Lyme borreliosis, among key stakeholders in medicine, public health, and the veterinary community.
Our Values
Accuracy + Science + Integrity
We are committed to providing the highest quality testing possible, to providing our services in the most honest and transparent way possible, and to center our testing services on a solid foundation of scientific excellence.
Background
Galaxy Diagnostics was launched in 2009 to commercialize a more sensitive test method for Bartonella species infection, called Bartonella ePCR™. The underlying technology, developed by Galaxy cofounders, Drs. Ed Breitschwerdt and Ricardo Maggi at NC State University, is a novel insect-based growth medium called Bartonella alphaproteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM™, pronounced BAP-gee-em). Since launch, our company has made significant progress in the development of a broad range of molecular and immunological offerings for confirmation of flea and tick-borne infections in people and animals.
Always on the hunt for promising innovations, we are now applying two new groundbreaking diagnostic technologies to the problem of detecting clinical evidence of slow-growing, elusive, low abundance infections. In addition to BAPGM™ enrichment, Nanotrap® particle enrichment and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) offer significant promise for improved direct detection of low-abundance pathogens like Bartonella and Borrelia species. More sensitive and specific detection supports earlier diagnosis and earlier diagnosis means better treatment response in the field of infectious disease.
We also identify as a “One Health” company. The One Health perspective recognizes that human, animal, and environmental health are all connected. In fact, six of every 10 infectious diseases in humans are spread from animals. The goal of One Health is to encourage the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to achieve the best health for people, animals, and our environment. Our company was spun out of the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine and has ongoing collaborations with physicians, veterinarians, microbiologists, clinical chemists, patients, and disease advocates in many fields to generate new understandings about the importance of flea- and tick-borne disease for global health. We encourage you to learn more about the One Health Initiative and to look beyond the boundaries of human health to better understand health impacts around the globe.
