Minimally-Invasive, Point-of-Care Test for COVID-19 Patients Assesses Disease Progression

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 09 Dec 2020

A minimally-invasive, point-of-care (POC) test for COVID-19 patient triage quantifies IL-6 in whole blood to assess progression of the disease.

Bluejay Diagnostics, Inc. (Acton, MA, USA) and Toray Industries, Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) have entered into a collaboration to develop Symphony IL-6, a portable and integrated POC test, for the quantitation of IL-6 in whole blood for COVID-19 patients who present progressing symptoms and have a high risk of intubation with mechanical ventilation. Symphony IL-6 can be implemented in the healthcare system as an aid in predicting patients at risk for intubation.

Image: Symphony IL-6 and IL-8 Cartridges (Photo courtesy of Bluejay Diagnostics, Inc.)

Under this agreement, Toray will license its technology and know-how of the product. Bluejay expects to perform clinical trials and regulatory applications through an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the US and other regulatory approvals globally. Symphony IL-6 is the first of many products to be developed on Bluejay’s platform technology that combines microfluidics and nanotechnology to develop point of care tests in liquid biopsies.

"Our new technology developed by Toray can quantitate IL-6 in whole blood without any pre-treatment and would be the first in the market," said Neil Dey, CEO of Bluejay. "It augments Bluejay's research and development strategy of tailored point-of-care diagnostics, namely, finding the right test at the right time for patients. Through our collaboration with Toray, we hope to deliver rapid, point-of-care tests that enhance patient care and save lives."

Related Links:
Bluejay Diagnostics, Inc.
Toray Industries, Inc.