Oxford Scientists Develop Spinout to Launch COVID-19 Rapid Test

Scientists from the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science and Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research (OSCAR) recently developed a new company to launch a COVID-19 rapid test, according to an Oxford University press release.

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The spinout company, Oxsed Limited, will commercialize and distribute technology jointly developed at Oxford University and OSCAR to detect SARS-CoV-2.

“Our test is ideal for use in community or field settings by lay persons and allows immediate decisions to be made,” Zhanfeng Cui, Oscar director and professor , said in a statement.

“Immediate applications are returning to work/education (i.e. schools, universities, companies) and making quarantine decisions (e.g. care homes, hospitals, temporary migrants, tourists),” he added. “Use of such a test could be crucial to economic recovery globally.”

The test was designed with high specificity adapted from an established technology known as RT-LAMP. It’s a simplified, one-step version of a viral RNA test and can be used without special equipment or training.

This design also uses less ‘reagents’ than the PCR-based coronavirus lab tests in widespread use, which can require significant effort to drive DNA reactions needed to produce a result, researchers explained.

Therefore, implementation of this test for screening would ease pressure on the PCR reagent supply chain.

“An advantage of using LAMP technology is that it uses different reagents to most laboratory-based PCR tests. Implementation of this test for screening would ease the pressure on the PCR reagent supply chain in the NHS,” said Monique Andersson, director of microbiology at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which worked to clinically validate the test.

“In terms of its wider application, the assay requires little infrastructure and is relatively low cost making it a viable option for widespread testing in [low- to middle-income countries],” she added.

The results are read by eye or fluorescent display, so no additional tools to analyze results are needed, researchers said. And a bluetooth-linked detection instrument can connect the test result to a laboratory information system for easy result tracking.

The results are available within 45 minutes. Researchers said they plan to publish the results of their clinical validation in the near future.

“By designing the specific primers and controlling the biochemical reaction, we are able to eliminate the non-specific reactions that cause false positives and make our RT-LAMP test robust,” Wei Huang, a professor who designed the primers to target the viral RNA, said in a statement.

“The Oxford test can be transported and stored at ambient temperature without need for cold chain, which makes shipping and distribution much easier,” he added.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, highly accessible and rapid testing around the world is vital in order to detect SARS-CoV-2 and enable countries to emerge from lockdown safely and efficiently.

Oxford’s test will soon be certified with CE-mark and be made available in quantity with the commercial product name Oxsed RiViD Direct.

“Speed of response is crucial in the current pandemic, and we are very pleased to have supported our researchers through the commercialization process in just three months,” said Jane Jin, MD, senior licensing and venture manager at Oxford University Innovation.

“Now that the social venture has been incorporated, we look forward to seeing the technology deployed globally at scale, in particular in resource-poor developing countries,” she added.