Conn. company in spotlight as home COVID-19 tests advance

A Guilford-based company is ramping up production of its newly developed at-home COVID-19 tests to support federal efforts to bolster testing as case numbers rise.

Detect Inc., co-founded by gene sequencing pioneer Jonathan Rothberg, received an $8.1 million National Institutes of Health grant in October to advance the test’s development. It was one of several companies selected nationwide to receive a portion of the $77.7 million through the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Initiative.

On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, holding a Detect test kit, said the company could be part of the ramped-up manufacturing of tests which, Blumenthal said, should be done under the Defense Production Act by orders of President Joe Biden, under a newly seated board.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Congress and the Biden Administration on ways to meet the nation’s testing needs,” said Owen KayeKauderer, co-founder and chief business officer for Detect, in an emailed statement Monday.

The tests take just an hour and are about 97 percent accurate, according to the Detect website. They are based on a molecular system that is far more accurate than current home-based tests on the market, the company said.

“Due to high demand for the Detect Covid-19 Test, we are currently out of stock,” a banner on the company’s website read Monday. “We will be making additional tests available as soon as possible.”

Updates on when more will be available can be found on the Detect website, Kaye-Kauderer said.

The tests are about $50, and a starter kit including a test and reusable testing hub is $75, according to Detect’s website. The company has about 100 employees.

“Since we first made our PCR-quality rapid at-home test available, we have experienced incredibly high demand,” Kaye-Kauderer said. “We are working hard to make more tests available as soon as possible in the New Year.”

It’s a story that’s been reflected across many testing avenues lately: pharmacies without open appointments, a lack of athome tests and long lines for drive-through options. As Connecticut’s case numbers have risen, so has demand for testing.

“Connecticut is currently experiencing another surge in COVID-19 cases that is being driven mostly by the highly transmissible Omicron variant,” Lamont said in a release. “As a result, the demand for tests has outpaced the supply of testing available through our statewide network of about 400 sites.”

In efforts to alleviate the lack of available tests, Lamont announced Monday that the state will distribute 3 million COVID antigen tests and 6 million N95 masks beginning as soon as Thursday. Biden announced last week that 500 million COVID tests would be distributed in January nationally.

Blumenthal called for a larger federal push using the law that can help, or even compel, companies to add new capacity.

Even with high demand, the senator said, the company “needs help to produce many more of these kinds of tests.”

“We are now in a moment of maximum danger,” he said. “We need to assure people and they need to assure themselves that they are doing everything possible to stop the spread.”

The Defense Production Act allows the government to contract with companies to prioritize production of supplies needed for national emergencies. It’s been used throughout the pandemic to push manufacturing of personal protective equipment and testing supplies, among other materials.

Blumenthal visited the Guilford Detect headquarters in November when the company unveiled the COVID-19 test after receiving its federal approval.

“Senator Blumenthal has been a vocal advocate for accurate at-home rapid testing like Detect’s,” KayeKauderer said.

Detect’s website says the tests can detect an infection earlier than an antigen test. The Food and Drug Administration gave the company the go-ahead to produce tests for use at home earlier this fall.

The company isn’t involved with Lamont’s latest announcement, but is “working closely” with the state’s Department of Public Health and the governor’s office “to be part of the state’s multi-faceted testing approach,” KayeKauderer said.

Rothberg, the co-founder, is known for developing high-speed DNA sequencing. Former President Barack Obama awarded him a National Medal of Technology and Innovation for the invention.

He also developed the Butterfly Network, a system that features a portable ultrasound device that can detect COVID-19’s impact on patients’ lungs, among other uses.

Detect tests are only for sale online, but the company hopes to have them available in stores and pharmacies in 2022, KayeKauderer said.