NIH awards $98.35M in RADx contracts for six COVID-19 testing technologies

A joint effort between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) brought $98.35 million to COVID-19 testing efforts this week, as part of six contracts awarded under the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative.

The contracts can be broken down into two types: viral antigen detection and viral RNA detection.

Among viral antigen tests, Ellume USA LLC, Luminostics, Inc., and Quanterix all received funding. Ellume is creating a single-use test based on two test cartridges capable of returning results in 15 minutes or less, for use in either healthcare or at-home settings. Luminostics is creating a rapid smartphone-accessible immunoassay to detect SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — on shallow nasal swabs in 30 minutes or less. Quanterix has a lab antigen test based on ultra-sensitive single-molecule immunoassay technology that would allow for detection from a range of sample types and provide a turnaround within 24-48 hours.

On the other hand, viral RNA detection efforts include a lab module from Flambeau Diagnostics, which allows for deployment in a mobile van to screen asymptomatic individuals through detection in saliva samples, with a turnaround as quick as one hour. Ubiquitome also won an award for a battery-operated mobile RT-PCR drive that detects viral RNA within 40 minutes and provides results through an iPhone app. Visby Medical earned the final award for a palm-sized, single-use RT-PCR device capable of detecting viral RNA at point of care within 30 minutes.

“Since launching in April, the NIH RADx initiative has moved swiftly to facilitate critical expansion of early and late-stage testing technologies as well as research to remove barriers to testing for underserved and vulnerable populations,” Dr. Francis S. Collins, NIH Director, said. “Each of the technologies emerging from the RADx initiative will play a critical role in extending accessibility to testing in diverse settings.”

These awards represent the third round of contract awards and are meant to fund scale-up and manufacturing. Each technology targeted will innovate in some way, providing new methods of sample collection, processing, and quick result returns. Between them, the new tests are expected to add up to 500,000 tests per day to U.S. capacity by year’s end, and 1 million tests per day next year.