Next-Generation Covid-19 Diagnostics Sought

NIH has issued two new funding opportunities for diagnostics manufacturers to develop the next generation of Covid-19 tests with a focus on accessibility. The new programs may award up to $300 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for developing new, accessible tests.

The funding opportunities are part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program, managed by NIBIB.

The first solicitation is for accessible over-the-counter tests that can be used by people with disabilities—specifically blindness, low vision, fine motor skill difficulties and aging-related disorders. Products should be ready for commercialization in 12-24 months. 

The second solicitation focuses on improving performance of over-the-counter and point-of-care tests as well as integrating universal design features to ensure ease of use. Tests should aim to minimize or eliminate the need for serial testing and performance should be unaffected by variants. Products should be ready for commercialization in 24-36 months.

This effort builds on a highly successful program that has increased U.S. testing capacity by billions in the span of 2 years and compressed the technology development timeline from years to months. Applications are being accepted now.

For details, see: https://www.nibib.nih.gov/covid-19/radx-tech-program. Programmatic or technical questions? Email info.radx@poctrn.org.