Award-winning Cambridge company to pioneer radical new Covid-19 test

DiagNodus Ltd, a Cambridge biomedical company based at Babraham Research Campus, has received a prestigious grant from Innovate UK to help it develop a radical new test for Covid-19 using anal swabs. DiagNodus expects its new test to be more accurate than the model currently in use, which is based on collecting material from the nose and throat.

Dr. Alex Loktionov, CEO and Scientific Director of DiagNodus, commented: “recent peer-reviewed studies (https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2020.03.065) have shown that the virus remains in the bowel for longer than it does elsewhere in the body. Therefore, if we develop a test that spots it in bowel material, using our already proven diagnostic approach, we can trace the disease in patients who might otherwise have tested negative, but are in fact carriers of Covid-19. This can also protect from infection medical professionals performing gastrointestinal and colorectal procedures, and I am delighted that Innovate UK will be helping us take this project forward”.

The recent funding boost is the latest in a series of positive developments for DiagNodus. Earlier this year, the company’s innovative research on detecting bowel cancer was featured in the British Journal of Cancer, one of the world’s top medical publications (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-020-0893-8). The company has also launched an ambitious strategic partnership with St. George’s Hospital, a leading London NHS trust, as well as strengthening its Board with a new director tasked with commercialising its products and drawing in investment. This builds on an impressive track record in recent years, which have seen the company gain two granted patents, while the European Commission has recognised the work of DiagNodus with a prestigious Seal of Excellence. DiagNodus will announce a major fundraising round in the coming weeks.

For more information on DiagNodus, please see http://www.diagnodus.com/ or follow @Diagnodus on Twitter.