U.S. consumer goods and safety products firm The 3M Company has partnered with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop a new rapid antigen test to detect the novel coronavirus. Both companies are hoping to roll out the new test kits, which it aims to become available throughout the country.
By developing its own rapid test kits, 3M is aiming to resolve the delay issue that is plaguing traditional testing methods. As the coronavirus continued to spread across the country, delays in processing is costing a lot of lives. Quickly identifying infected individuals is crucial in mitigating the further spread of the virus. Through the use of its tests, infected individuals can be quickly isolated and contact tracing can be done to find other people that were exposed.
3M and the researchers at MIT are looking into using the antigen testing method for their test kits. This type of test, which is relatively new for the new coronavirus strain, works by quickly detecting specific proteins that are found inside the virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is pushing for the development of test kits using antigen detection as they are much quicker and cost less to produce.
The kits from 3M, which will look very similar to pregnancy tests, are currently in the early stages of development. A prototype device has reportedly already received approval from the National Institutes of Health's Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Tech program, which granted 3M an additional $500,000 in funding to speed up its research and development.
The company's senior technical manager, Cathy Tarnowski, mentioned in an interview that the cost of each test kits will be very low as the company is using a paper-based point-of-care system. Once the development of the kit is complete, 3M plans to make millions of units per day at its various factories.
Tarnowski stated that the company and MIT researchers are focusing on making their device as low cost and as accurate as possible. Once that is achieved, 3M will immediately seek FDA authorization for its distribution. By flooding the market, the company hopes to allow people and government agencies to conduct frequent diagnostic testing. She explained that the problem with current testing methods, such as RNA tests, is that most people can only be tested once. With 3M's cheap kits, people can be tested more often, providing more time points, and more accurate results.
Apart from 3M, other companies that are also trying to develop rapid antigen test kits include Quidel and Becton Dickinson. Quidel's kits were previously granted an emergency use authorization, while the tests produced by Becton Dickinson were granted the same authorization last week.
