PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a quasi-public agency, will issue a $1 million grant to help develop a faster, more accurate test for diagnosing Ebola, Gov. Deval Patrick announced Tuesday.
The grant will support a partnership of local life sciences companies, nonprofits and academic institutions that will try to speed up the launch of an Ebola detection tool already in development by Diagnostics For All, a nonprofit organization.
Officials on hand for the Statehouse announcement promised the new tool — which will accept a “single finger-stick of blood” and provide a clear “yes” or “no” response in 45 minutes — will be cheaper, easier to use and lead to earlier diagnosis than current tests.
They said current tests are time and labor-intensive and not always sensitive enough to detect Ebola at its earliest onset, which they said is critical to containing and effectively treating the disease.
Patrick said the investment would assure that Massachusetts will play a central role in saving many lives from the deadly virus.
Richard Sacra, a Massachusetts doctor cured of Ebola in the U.S. after working in Liberia, said the testing tool would make an enormous difference for West Africa, where there have been nearly 18,000 confirmed or suspected cases and approximately 6,400 deaths.
Sacra, a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was one of 10 people treated for Ebola in the U.S.
The $1 million “challenge” grant requires the partnership to raise an additional $4.5 million and deliver a field-ready product within six months.
The partnership will be headed by Diagnostics For All and includes Harvard University, UMass Medical School, GE Healthcare and Cambridge Consultants, among others.
