How a simple intent can lead researchers to unexpected places
Cavidi was founded this month in 1984 by a team of researchers who saw a problem they could solve at the outset of the AIDS crisis. The company’s first commercial product set out to make the detection of HIV more accessible. From viral load monitoring solutions, Cavidi went on to tackle accessibility in HIV drug resistance testing with our ZIVA project. What started as work on phenotypic integrase inhibitors hit a wall in 2022 that forced us to think differently. That’s when the “eureka” moment happened—what if we could combine existing biochemistry tools with molecular biology techniques in a completely new way?
What emerged was BOLD (Binding Oligo Ladder Detection), and today it’s transforming how researchers detect ultra-low abundance biomarkers through our Exazym® reagent kits.
The Problem Every Researcher Knows
In life science research, sensitivity can be the difference between a promising lead—and a missed opportunity. If you work with immunoassays, you know this frustration: the biomarker is present, but at such low levels your assay can’t reliably detect it. This is especially challenging when targeting neurological, oncological, or infectious disease markers present in femtogram or attogram concentrations. Until now, your options were limited: Either accept standard immunoassay limits or invest in expensive digital systems with proprietary workflows.
Exazym® offers a third way: Digital-Level Performance, ELISA-Level Simplicity
The introduction of Exazym® provides all researchers with ultra-sensitive detection of low-abundance biomarkers using standard immunoassay workflows—no specialized equipment, software, or training required. Just two additional amplification steps (often at room temperature) deliver:
- Up to 200X improvement in optimal conditions
- 10X to 50X signal improvement in most assays
- Ultra-sensitive detection levels on existing platforms
- Clean, reliable amplification without background noise
Our Mission: Democratizing Detection
BOLD isn’t just a technology—it’s about democratizing high-sensitivity detection. This has been a common thread at Cavidi since we were founded in 1984 to provide greater access to viral load monitoring at the outset of the AIDS crisis.
The ability to detect ultra-low concentrations shouldn’t be confined to elite labs with expensive instruments. By extending the analytical reach of standard immunoassays, we’re making ultra-sensitivity available to drug discovery teams, academic researchers, and clinical innovators worldwide.
What drives your research? We’d love to hear from fellow researchers working to push past traditional limits.
Photo by Hugo Jehanne on Unsplash