The University of California, Los Angeles received U.S. Food & Drug Administration approval Wednesday for a new novel coronavirus testing method that is faster and cheaper than most on the market, allowing for thousands of tests to be processed and their results returned in a day.
The test analyzes the genomic sequencing of samples to identify infected people — including those who are asymptomatic — by having them spit into a tube that then goes directly into a machine.
<p>The test uses saliva without extracting the RNA from it, and so is "accurate enough" in comparison to the traditional polymerase chain reaction — or PCR — tests, which are the existing gold-standard for testing but can take days to process, said Dr. Eleazar Eskin, a computer scientist and geneticist who is chair of the Department of Computational Medicine at UCLA. He was part of the team that developed the new testing technology.</p><p>The researchers who developed the method hope to test the entire UCLA population twice a week beginning in a few weeks and already have a <a href="https://stopcovid19together.org/testing" target="_blank">proof-of-concept online</a>, Eskin said.</p><p>The <a href="https://stopcovid19together.org/testing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">platform known as "SwabSeq"</a> looks for a piece of the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2, an RNA virus that causes COVID-19. For every sample of saliva received, the researchers add a barcode or "sticker." They then mix the samples together and put them into the genomic sequencing machine. Then, by looking at the barcode or "sticker" of the result, they can identify those samples infected with the novel coronavirus.</p><p>At scale, "it costs $10 a test, and we can do tens of thousands of tests at UCLA with a lab of 10 people," Eskin said. The technology leverages decades of advancements in genomic sequencing technology since mapping of the Human Genome Project.</p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.08.04.20167874v2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pre-print article on the technology, which has not been peer reviewed</a>, the researchers wrote: "SwabSeq is simple, sensitive, flexible, rapidly scalable, inexpensive enough to test widely and frequently, and can provide a turn around time of 12 to 24 hours."</p><p>The traditional PCR tests are far more labor intensive and require extracting the RNA from a patient's sample under a specific safety hood before they can be tested.</p><p>"We <a href="https://ucla.app.box.com/s/wqjwmxxtaurst5n10fk2ebeuky9klx82" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">literally have people spit into a tube</a> and that tube goes directly in the machine," Eskin said. "So it's going to be much more scalable."</p><p>The sample goes into a sequencer and then put onto a computer to analyze the data.</p><p>SwabSeq was developed as part of a collaboration between UCLA's Department of Human Genetics, the university's new Department of Computational Medicine, UCLA Health and Octant Inc., a startup biotechnology company founded and incubated at UCLA. The group began working on the new method in March, Eskin said.___</p><p>__</p><p><em>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on <a href="https://twitter.com/latams" target="_blank">Twitter @latams</a>. You can also email me at tami(at)dot.la, or ask for my contact on Signal, for more secure and private communications.<br/></em></p>
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LA Venture Podcast: Z Holly Of Good Growth Capital on Biotech, Education and the LA River
Oct 01 2020
On this week's episode of the L.A. Venture podcast, we have the super interesting guest (and person), Krisztina "Z" Holly. Before joining Good Growth Capital, she was vice provost for innovation at USC and the founding executive director for the M.I.T. Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation. She also created the first TED X event and built a nonprofit to support manufacturing in Los Angeles. Her life might be best described as a Mountain Dew commercial.
<p>In this episode, Holly talks about how she hopes to boost innovation in Southern California's universities and in L.A. manufacturing and discusses her new project along the L..A River.<br/></p><p>"There is so much research happening in Southern California is like over $3 billion worth of research happening in the top research universities alone, let alone in the hospitals, etc. That in a large part of that is in biotech. And unfortunately, L.A. is seen as a flyover city when it comes to biotech," Holly says. "San Diego and the Bay Area are really strong — but the truth is that we actually in Southern California, we create more patents. [SoCal] universities create as many patents as the Boston area, and way more than the Bay Area."</p><p><span></span>Holly's <a href="https://www.rioreveals.com/" target="_blank">project with nonprofit River L.A.</a> enlists city artists to create immersive experiences that flow "through the past, present, and future L.A. River."<br/></p><p><em>"</em>If you think about one, a quarter of all Californians live within an hour drive of the L.A. River," she says. "The whole goal is to integrate design and infrastructure, to connect the communities and the people and the environment along the river. So it's really meant to tap into all the different opportunities for the community around the river."<br/></p><p><em>Click the playhead to hear the full interview, and subscribe on </em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-venture-venture-capital-vc/id1471701230" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/la-venture" target="_blank">Stitcher</a><em>, </em><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2syPj1jttbIHjHIEwSrApH" target="_blank">Spotify</a><em> or wherever you get your podcasts to hear more from L.A. Venture.</em></p><p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this post erroneously stated she is still at USC. </em></p>
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You'll soon be able to take a rapid COVID-19 test before boarding a plane at Los Angeles International Airport.
Two design companies — one known for transforming shipping containers into pop-up businesses and homes, another that focuses on an eco-friendly approach to architecture — will erect modular COVID testing center at LAX by Nov. 1. New Jersey-based Clarity Labs will eventually staff those sites with technicians.
<p>Details of the labs are still unclear. A spokesperson for LAX confirmed the deal, but neither company nor the airport would immediately comment on it. The news comes as the airline industry — reeling from the virus with layoffs and plummeting passenger bookings — is looking for ways to assure passenger safety.</p><p>Earlier this week, United Airlines announced it would be the first U.S. airline to test travelers for the virus, beginning with a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii on October 15. German airline Lufthansa will also start providing tests in October to passengers on international flights. </p><p>The converted shipping containers will hold federally certified labs — so-called testing pods — that can return test results in two hours, according to a statement announcing the news. It is unclear when they will be open for the public. </p><p>"We are proud to work with LAX to help bring passengers and staff a greater sense of security and safety when it comes to air travel," said Paul Galvin, Chairman and CEO of SG Blocks in a statement. </p><p>Lab technicians will use nasal swab tests that the FDA has approved for emergency use. The tests are produced and distributed by South Korea-based company OSANG Healthcare. </p><p>Unlike antibody tests, which the FDA does not consider sufficient to diagnose the virus, the lab will use a molecular diagnostic test to check whether travelers have an active infection. </p><p>This won't be the first shipping container-turned-lab created by SG Blocks. Earlier this month, the company announced a joint venture with Clarity Labs to launch rapidly produced testing centers under the name "Clarity Modular Lab Solutions" for use in underserved hot spots, according to a statement released by the company. </p><p>While the partnership with Clarity is focusing on COVID testing, the venture will eventually offer screening for a range of illnesses including cancer and swine flu, according to the statement.</p><p>"The CMLS joint venture is designed to provide fast, accurate and reliable point of care testing that has been elusive for the poor and working classes," the company said in early September. "The vision behind CMLS is to reduce barriers to diagnostic testing to enable the best possible medical outcomes. The labs are expected to be located in high risk areas, densely populated or regional hubs for rural U.S."</p><p>United is <a href="https://hub.united.com/2020-09-24-united-airlines-becomes-first-u-s-carrier-to-make-covid-19-tests-available-to-customers-2647787602.html" target="_blank">offering</a> their customers a choice to take either a rapid test at the airport or a self-collected, mail-in test 72 hours prior to the trip. The tests, developed by Abbott Laboratories, can produce results in 15 minutes, according to a statement from United. </p><p>New York-based design and construction firm SG Blocks, which was created in 2007, has made containers for a slew of national chain businesses. It's built the first Starbucks drive-through in Salt Lake City and a mobile showroom for Mini Cooper. They've also used shipping containers to build homes in the Hamptons. </p><p>Shares of SG Blocks soared after the announcement. </p><p>The structures will be designed with architecture and industrial planning firm Grimshaw, which is based in London with offices in Los Angeles.</p>
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