The Technology Partnership (TTP) is seeking go-to-market partnerships for CoTest, a new pooled screening technology for COVID-19.
CoTest focusses on protecting the population by testing the well and ensuring positive COVID-19 cases are isolated quickly. It aims to enable rapid, daily and highly cost-efficient screening of large groups, such as school classes and workplaces, using a new and significantly improved approach to pooled screening. CoTest enables efficient testing at the point of most immediate need for maximum immediate impact.
The technology will be able to be used by anyone, anywhere, to screen up to 40 people at once for COVID-19 with results available in 30 minutes. Each pooled screening can be carried out for a similar cost to one individual test and provides the same degree of accuracy.
The with screening is based on saliva or swab tests and no specialist or external staff are required to use the equipment.
Peter Crossley, product development lead at TTP, said: “CoTest is not another mass testing offer. It is a new pooled screening technology designed to be compact and simple to use without specialist support or training.
“With support, it’s entirely possible that ‘CoTest’ could be in schools and businesses and being used as a key tool in how we manage the virus.
“The cost efficiency of this technology becomes increasingly powerful as infection rates decrease and health security monitoring becomes key.”
CoTest is the latest development in TTP’s support for the UK’s response to COVID-19.
In response to the Ventilator Challenge TTP developed ‘CoVent’, described by Michel Gove as a demonstration of “extraordinary endeavour, enterprise and ingenuity”. TTP engaged Dyson as manufacturing partner for CoVent and were ready for MHRA submissions and production within a month.
TTP also developed the DnaNudge technology and partnered with Quotient on the world’s first fully automated diagnostic testing platform, which is enabling the development of rapid, high performance COVID-19 antibody tests.
As vaccines are rolled out and infection rates lower, the new technology is especially useful in augmenting existing tools as the UK enters the next stage of its management of the virus.
Giles Sanders, diagnostics lead at TTP, said: “With the development of CoTest we are looking at where we see the role of testing and screening in the immediate future.
“We believe this technology represents an important step forward in distributed screening capacity, reducing the risk of transmission and allowing organisations to take greater control over their health security, stay open and relieve pressure on central services.”
TTP is looking for investment and partners to accelerate product development and scale-up.
TTP believe that, with support, it will be able to accelerate development of CoTest rapidly and has already engaged a number of partners across assay development and manufacturing.
