NEW YORK – Becton Dickinson will collaborate with Scanwell Health to develop an at-home rapid test for SARS-CoV-2, the firms said on Monday.
Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.
The assay will use a BD viral antigen test and the Scanwell Health mobile app. For the collaboration, BD will produce a lateral flow antigen test and pair it with the Scanwell Health mobile app, the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey firm said in a statement.
The app is expected to provide users with step-by-step instructions on how to collect and transfer a nasal swab sample and how to use a mobile device's camera to analyze and interpret results. The test result will be displayed for the user on screen and the companies also plan to develop functionality to assist in automated reporting to public health agencies, BD said.
"Testing at home before going out into the public is a critical safeguard to help stop the spread of COVID-19," said Dave Hickey, president of life sciences for BD. "We see the development of an at-home, lateral flow rapid antigen test as a complementary solution to our best-in-class BD Veritor system."
Founder and CEO of Scanwell Health Stephen Chen also commented that Scanwell's "innovative computer vision technology closely mirrors that of point-of-care and laboratory diagnostic systems," adding, "We're excited to leverage our experience in building FDA-cleared apps to bring this solution to market."
Los Angeles-based Scanwell previously exclusively licensed an antibody test from Innovita which received US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorized in December.Â
Scanwell has also developed at-home testing technologies for urinalysis and chronic kidney disease, and the firm recently partnered with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and Scanwell Health to develop an app to read rapid malaria tests.