Coronavirus Updates: Virgin Orbit Gets OK on Ventilators, Curative Signs Pact With Air Force

Coronavirus Updates: Virgin Orbit Gets OK on Ventilators, Curative Signs Pact With Air Force

Here are the latest headlines regarding how the novel coronavirus is impacting the Los Angeles startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for the latest updates.

Today:

  • Curative signs pact With Air Force to deploy COVID-19 tests
  • Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gets FDA approval on new ventilator design
  • New report quantifies Q1 loss of L.A. filming days from COVID shutdown

    New figures show COVID shutdown cut L.A. filming by 18% in Q1, set to free-fall

    images.pexels.com

    A new report from Film LA released Thursday reveals that filming days in L.A. in the first quarter of this year were down 18% compared to the same period last year. That number will plummet next quarter due to a county-wide filming moratorium that began on March 20.

    In its forecast for Q2, Film LA has assumed the earliest date that filming could resume is June 1st -- and even then, only for small projects that can adhere to social distancing. Even if this scenario occurs--which FilmLA VP of Communications Philip Sokoloski admitted is optimistic--analysts already forecast that the shooting days lost this year so far are unrecoverable.

    The timing of the shutdown is particularly bad for pilot season, which typically runs from February through May. In Q1, television took the largest hit, seeing a 20.6% decline in filming days. Feature film shoots fell 6.9%, while commercial shoots fell 12.5%. Reality shows, however, did see a Q1 uptick, of 11.7%.

    Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gets FDA approval on new ventilator design

    upload.wikimedia.org

    Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin immediate delivery of a new "bridge" ventilator designed and built by the satellite launch company. The Long Beach-based space company was given clearance through the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization, and expects to begin delivering ventilators to hospitals within the next few days.

    "Virgin Orbit has leveraged its extensive engineering design, manufacturing, and operational capabilities to quickly design a novel ventilator, test prototype units, and ramp up production of these devices," the company said in a statement.

    The device has been funded entirely by Virgin Orbit, and is a simple ventilator that's driven by a windshield-wiper motor. Physicians believe it can be used as a stop-gap solution until patients are able to be put on a standard ventilator.

    Curative signs pact With Air Force to deploy COVID-19 tests

    COVID-19 testing startup Curative and aerospace accelerator Gothams have signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to deploy its FDA-authorized oral fluid tests and comprehensive testing service to military personnel around the world.

    "Broad testing is critical to our nation's ability to understand the COVID-19 pandemic, maintain operational readiness and restart the American economy," the companies said in a statement.

    In this initial agreement, Curative will rapidly establish a new laboratory facility, fully operational this week, which will process up to 50,000 tests per day for the presence of COVID-19. In future phases of this agreement, Curative will establish eight testing locations across the U.S. to support testing for the U.S. population.

    Curative has processed 75,000 tests amounting to about 20% of those administered in California, according to a spokesperson for the company.

    Turner set up shop in a San Dimas lab in March and became an unsung hero in the battle to combat coronavirus in Southern California when he turned the focus of his company, originally meant to detect sepsis, to the pandemic. As part of this agreement with the Air Force, each Curative lab will have a daily capacity to examine 50,000 tests per day. Currently Curative has the capacity to scale to a network of 10 labs across the country for a total of 500,000 tests per day.

    Subscribe to our newsletter to catch every headline.

    LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

    Decerry Donato

    Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

    LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
    LA Tech ‘Moves’:

    “Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

    ***

    Read moreShow less

    This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

    Decerry Donato

    Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

    Raises
    Image by Joshua Letona

    A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

    ***

    Read moreShow less

    Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles

    Samson Amore

    Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

    Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
    \u200bPhoto: Gitai

    Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

    The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

    Read moreShow less
    https://twitter.com/samsonamore
    samsonamore@dot.la
    RELATEDEDITOR'S PICKS
    LA TECH JOBS
    interchangeLA
    Trending