Massachusetts Organizations Granted $1 Million to Develop Ebola Test

Ebola researchers in Massachusetts received a $1 million challenge grant to produce a fast-acting and accurate test for the disease, participating organizations announced Tuesday.

The test would allow individuals to be tested for Ebola with just a single finger-stick of blood and they would receive a clear “yes/no” response within 45 minutes. This Ebola diagnosis test would be cheaper and easier to use than the current methods used to detect Ebola and would help contain and effectively treat the disease.

“Rapid testing at the point of care will make a huge difference for the triage process in West Africa, and may well save hundreds of lives in the first month it is available,” said Dr. Richard Sacra, a University of Massachusetts Medical School faculty member in a press release. Sacra was cured of Ebola after working in Liberia.

The partnership of several leading companies and institutions will bring the product to the field in six months. The partnership is led by Diagnostics For All (DFA), Harvard University, the Broad Institute, UMass Medical School, GE Healthcare, Cambridge Consultants, Eiken, BBI Solutions, IMPACT Consultants and WellBody Alliance in Sierra Leone.

The product will be tested at regions most heavily affected by Ebola in the next six months. Airports and emergency rooms around the country would be able to use this test.

There have been about 18,000 confirmed or suspected Ebola cases, 6,4000 deaths in West Africa from the recent outbreak and 10 individuals have been treated for Ebola in the United States.

“The life sciences sectors are so important to our state’s economy, but more importantly, they enable Massachusetts to make major contributions to the quality of life for people all around the world,” said President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Susan Windham-Bannister, in a press release.