Sherlock Biosciences announced today that it will collaborate with Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) to enable large-scale manufacturing of the Sherlock CRISPR SARS-CoV-2 kit for COVID-19 detection.
Officials at Cambridge, Mass.–based Sherlock Biosciences think the company’s CRISPR-based diagnostic test, which recently received an FDA emergency use authorization, will increase testing capacity and decreasing time to result amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The company says the test provides specific and sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2, with no need for specialized instruments to complete a test. It’s used on standard laboratory equipment, which provides a minimal footprint and helps enable a turnaround time of only about an hour.
IDT (Coralville, Iowa) is supplying several key components for the test kits, including the Cas13a enzyme on which the test is based, as well as CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and primer mix.
“Through this strategic partnership, we will be able to scale production as needed to satisfy the demand for increased testing volumes, which should allow laboratory technicians to run tests at a higher throughput and provide results rapidly to improve patient care,” Sherlock Biosciences CEO Rahul Dhanda said in a news release.
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