RAPID-COVID – Robust Automation and Point of Care IDentification of COVID

COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus, has spread to more than 200 countries worldwide. Detecting and differentiating Sars-CoV-2 from SARS-CoV, which emerged in November 2002, as well as 30 other common respiratory bacteria and viruses, is important. Failure to distinguish different pathogens may lead to unnecessary antimicrobial use, cross-infection of mis-grouped patients, and further spreading of infectious disease. The EU-funded RAPID-COVID project will prototype a technique to simultaneously detect and differentiate SARS-CoV-2 and 30 other common respiratory bacteria and viruses. It will allow for accurate, cost-effective, and comprehensive diagnoses during the current outbreak as well as for streamlined integration into future routine diagnoses of respiratory diseases.

BioSistemika’s role:

The role of BioSistemika is to develop complete diagnostic device software and automate processes related to sampling and diagnosis. The consortium has already developed prototype technology, and with the final product, they promise to perform one test for as little as EUR 9. This would allow for a significantly more accurate and cost-effective diagnosis between the current outbreak and future routine diagnosis of respiratory disease.

This project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 101005144. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and EFPIA.