HudsonAlpha Campus Development and Innovation for COVID-19
COVID-19 and the call to action
Developing COVID-19 tests At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies residing on HudsonAlpha’s biotech campus increased laboratory testing capacity and launched point-of-care testing diagnostics. Several companies developed COVID-19 diagnostic tests and testing platforms, many of which are being used onsite at hospitals and clinics throughout the state of Alabama. For example, Kailos Genetics developed an affordable, non-invasive, routine screening test to help keep workers at work and students in school. Participants swish and spit a solution into a cup. Then samples from up to 25 individuals are tested together. If the group tests positive, the individual samples are then tested to determine who is carrying the virus. It is a faster, more affordable way to regularly test large groups of people. Some of the companies on campus working on this:
Testing
Treatment
Developing treatments for COVID-19 While the ultimate tool for eradicating a new virus is a viral vaccine, vac- cine development takes a lot of time. Developing treatments to reduce or alleviate symptoms of the virus is equally important on the road to eradicating SARS-CoV-2. Several HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigators and Associate Companies on the biotech campus are working tirelessly to produce neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 disease symptoms by blocking its viral entry into our cells. Through a research partnership with HudsonAlpha and Huntsville Hospital (Huntsville, AL), the team at iRepertoire is studying local patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in hopes of guiding the development of an effec- tive treatment for the disease. The patients provide blood samples at four time points over a series of weeks. iRepertoire’s technology screens the samples for antibodies to study how the immune system responds to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Researchers at HudsonAlpha and iRepertoire hope the results of the study can be used to find and test possible treatments or cures for COVID-19 by using antibodies identified in these patients. Some of the companies on campus working on this:
44
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker