Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) is aiming to develop a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 that will show results within an hour.
The test would enable health professionals to test for COVID-19 on site, eliminating the need to send tests to a centralised laboratory, saving time and resources.
The university received funding of €930,000 for the trial along with a partnership of medtechs; HiberGene Diagnostics Ltd, Medcaptain in China, and Italian Hospital IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino.
Professor Cliff Taggart, lead medical researcher at QUB said: “The local availability, speed and accuracy of the test will help inform public health preparedness and response in the ongoing pandemic.”
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The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (HSC) carried out the initial development work on a prototype Meningococcal Disease test in collaboration with QUB.
This meningitis test has since been licensed and issued to over 70 countries via Hibergene’s network of 45 distributors.
CEO of Hibergene, Seamus Gorman said: “We are delighted to lead an international consortium to quickly develop and bring to market a rapid easy to use molecular diagnostic test for COVID 19 disease.”
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Source: Written from press release
