NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

RADx Issues New Awards for Covid-19 Test Development

packaging and testing device
BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS‑CoV‑2. The lateral flow immunoassay with a reader delivers electronic results intended to be used in point-of-care settings.

Photo:  BD

The NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative announced that it has issued new awards for Covid-19 diagnostic testing projects. These projects were selected to address the need for new types of tests. Awards total $77.7 million to develop and manufacture these 12 new rapid diagnostic technologies, which are expected to expand testing options and capacity for the country. 

The projects are part of the RADx Tech program, which involves an intensive concept viability “shark-tank”-like assessment conducted by a panel of technical, regulatory and business experts. The awards support the development, validation, scale-up and manufacturing with the goal of bringing needed tests to the market as early as this year. 

“These technologies represent important innovations to address the need for ready access to rapid, low-cost tests everywhere in the country, including in every home,” said Dr. Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and lead for RADx Tech. “The potential to test simultaneously for multiple types of infection at the point-of-care is a new frontier that we hope to advance and could be a major step toward transforming U.S. health care.”

Read more about the new awards at www.nibib.nih.gov/news-events/newsroom/nih-radx-initiative-expands-covid-19-testing-innovation-additional-types-rapid-tests.

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