Biopharmaceutical company Hoth Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HOTH) on Monday announced a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) to license George Washington University's (GW) technology for developing an in vitro diagnostic device for the diagnosis of the COVID-19.

According to the companies, the nanohole array (NHA) based plasmonic system is designed for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The device uses a thin sheet of gold coated with virus-specific proteins that can bind with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. On binding, the wavelength of light bouncing off the surface changes, creates a different color of light that can be detected by a smartphone camera and an app with algorithms.

The companies added the test has the potential to provide results within minutes, which can be sent to healthcare professionals or public health databases using the app on the patient's mobile device. The objective of the SRA is to design and assess the analytical performance of the NHA-based system to directly detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus and distinguish that binding from other human coronaviruses.

In conjunction, Hoth has recently entered into two different agreements to further the development of two different vaccine prospects to prevent or treat COVID-19.