UAE and UK firms develop rapid, accurate COVID-19 testing technology

A UAE company has partnered with a UK firm to develop COVID-19 testing technology that could enable the country to conduct hundreds of thousands of tests on a daily basis.

Group 42, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, has teamed up with Oxford Nanopore Technologies to come up with what’s called the LamPORE assay, which detects SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

It’s said to be low-cost and scalable, and able to deliver rapid and accurate results.

It’s currently being incorporated into the UAE’s national testing strategy, and should be launched within weeks. 

The LamPORE assay can be performed on the extracted RNA from swabs, and it is also in development to work directly from saliva. Moreover, the LamPORE assay can be used to analyse environmental samples to assess the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces, or in systems such as water and sewage treatment facilities.