Biobot Analytics
{{Short description|American biotechnology company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Biobot Analytics
| logo = Biobot_Analytics_logo.svg
| image =
| industry = Biotechnology
| products = Wastewater analysis
| location = Cambridge, Massachusetts
| foundation = {{start date and age|df=yes|2017}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list
| Newsha Ghaeli
}}
| website = {{URL|biobot.io}}
}}
Biobot Analytics is an American biotechnology company that specializes in wastewater-based epidemiology headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company analyzes wastewater samples to measure the concentration of various substances, including pathogens, illicit drugs, and other public health indicators. Biobot was founded in 2017 at MIT by computational biologist Mariana Matus and architect Newsha Ghaeli.{{cite web |title=About |website=Biobot Analytics |url=https://biobot.io/about/ |access-date=8 April 2024}}{{cite web |last=Arnaud |first=Celia |title=Mariana Matus means to combat the opioid epidemic with chemical data |website=Chemical & Engineering News |date=8 March 2020 |url=https://cen.acs.org/environment/water/Mariana-Matus-means-to-combat-the-opioid-epidemic-with-chemical-data/98/i9 |access-date=8 April 2024}}
History
In 2018, Biobot began working with Y Combinator and was awarded their first contract by the city of Cary, North Carolina to analyze the city's wastewater for the presence of opioids.{{cite web |title=Testing Wastewater For Opioids: North Carolina Town Pilots New Technology |website=WBUR |date=28 March 2018 |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/03/28/opioids-test-wastewater |access-date=8 April 2024}}{{cite web |last=Chen |first=Justin |title=Scientists can track the spread of opioids in sewers. But do cities want to know what lies below? |website=STAT News |date=26 June 2018 |url=https://www.statnews.com/2018/06/26/wastewater-epidemiology-biobot-opioids/ |access-date=8 April 2024}}{{cite web |last=Kaufman |first=Rachel |title=Sewage May Hold the Key to Tracking Opioid Abuse |website=Smithsonian Magazine |date=22 August 2018 |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sewage-may-hold-key-tracking-opioid-abuse-180970108/ |access-date=3 May 2024}} In March 2020, the company initiated a wastewater-based surveillance program for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19 pandemic. By June of that year, the program had expanded to analyze samples from over 400 locations.{{cite web |last=Leiber |first=Nick |title=A Startup Is Testing Sewage to Trace the U.S. Spread of Covid |website=Bloomberg |date=1 June 2020 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-01/startup-biobot-analytics-is-tracing-coronavirus-through-poop |access-date=3 May 2024}} The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded Biobot a contract to expand their SARS-CoV-2 wastewater testing and reporting services to additional communities in 2021, covering 30% of the US population in total.{{cite web |last=Stone |first=Judy |title=CDC Improves Its Covid-19 Reporting With A New Wastewater Dashboard |website=Forbes |date=1 December 2023 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2023/12/01/cdc-improves-their-covid-19-reporting-with-a-new-wastewater-dashboard/?sh=1314f84270b9 |access-date=3 May 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Kirby |first1=Amy |title=Biobot CDC Letter of Support |url=https://www.biobot.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Biobot_CDC_LetterOfSupport.pdf |website=Biobot |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=3 May 2024 |date=24 May 2021}} In 2022, the CDC expanded their contract with Biobot to begin testing for the virus that causes mpox.{{cite journal |vauthors=Adams C, Kirby AE, Bias M, Riser A, Wong KK, Mercante JW, Reese H |title=Detecting Mpox Cases Through Wastewater Surveillance - United States, August 2022-May 2023 |journal=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |volume=73 |issue=2 |pages=37–43 |date=January 2024 |pmid=38236784 |pmc=10803092 |doi=10.15585/mmwr.mm7302a3}}