3 November 2020 - - US-based at-home diagnostics specialist Alveo Technologies has been awarded a grant to improve upon the performance and usability of its testing platform, and if successful, to advance the development and scale manufacturing of the company's be.well COVID-19 test from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the company said.

As the first of its kind platform, be.well is as accurate as a PCR test with all the benefits of an antigen test in terms of cost and accessibility that yields rapid test results via smartphone connectivity.

By collaborating with the foundation, Alveo will benefit from added resources and expertise needed to scale manufacturing up in a cost-effective manner to expand access to testing not only in clinical settings and homes but in remote settings, places of work, and other environments across the nation and the globe where testing for COVID-19 is limited.

Because the be.well platform does not require expensive equipment, training, or special expertise in order to accurately use the device, it can be deployed anywhere and be used by anyone to detect active infections of SARS-CoV-2, making it an ideal tool in areas with minimal or no lab testing capabilities.

As part of supporting commercialization efforts, the grant provides resources for Alveo to streamline components and the supply chain helping to remove current barriers to infectious disease testing, helping to transform our response to current and future epidemic and pandemics.

The grant's focus on performance improvement will aid in the first phase of manufacturing scaling, as well as planning for subsequent phases. 

be.well will undergo additional vetting processes to establish that it is effective and accurate. Currently, be.well is under development and has not received clearance or approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

Alveo offers an at-home diagnostic platform that will change the way infectious diseases are detected and managed.

The company's be.well testing system has accuracy rates comparable to a PCR test with the cost and accessibility benefits of an antigen test, which is then paired with cloud-based data analytics for rapid diagnosis and management of infectious diseases.

With an initial focus on acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19, Influenza A/B and RSV, Alveo's diagnostic platform can be adapted to detect a range of diseases that threaten public health.