Australian company awarded $600,000 to commercialise rapid Covid test






Zip Diagnostics has been awarded a $600,000 federal grant to help commercialise Australian-made tests able to diagnose Covid-19 and other diseases in less than 30 minutes.

 

Zip is developing a rapid point-of-case molecular test that can be administered by a non-expert and does not require lab facilities. The instrumentation “is scalable from small volumes to thousands of tests in a day,” according to a statement released on Monday.

 

ZiP Technical Director and co-founder Bill Hopper said the grant, “provides valuable funding for the development of ZiP’s technology and will allow us to secure regulatory approval in a shorter time frame than originally envisaged.

 

“It will also allow Australia to supply low-middle income countries — who have desperately pressing needs in medical diagnostics and antibiotic stewardship — to assist with disease elimination.” 

 

(An @AuManufacturing interview with Hopper last month can be read here.)

 

The tests run on platforms made by Australian company Axxin, and Zip has its origins in research on “high burden diseases in low to medium income countries and emerging threats.” The accuracy is comparable to PCR tests.

 

All of Zip’s test’s key components are made in Australia.     

 

The funding boost came through the third round of the $45 million BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program, and would assist in development and regulatory approval.  

 

Picture: Zip’s cartridge (supplied)

 

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