LONG GAME , QUICK PIVOT
Acing the Test
WHEN COVID-19 struck in early 2020 , medical device company Lucira Health was already poised to make a quick pivot . For more than five years , engineers and scientists at Lucira had been perfecting a small , handheld device that would test for seasonal influenza from home . Naturally , the team quickly changed course to develop a test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus . “ Fortunately , the Lucira test platform is easily adapted to new assays , or tests ,” says Erik Engelson ’ 82 , MS ’ 84 , president and CEO of Lucira Health . “ The decision to prioritize the COVID-19 test was an easy one .”
By November 2020 , Lucira had developed the first at-home COVID-19 test kit to earn FDA approval . Strong clinical data that the test was effective was key to achieving this approval , but the Lucira team also had consumercentric goals . The test had to be intuitive and straightforward enough for anyone to do on their own at home . “ A significant effort went into creating easy-tounderstand instructions along with a simple-to-use test ,” says Engelson .
On the surface , the test is just that — the taker self-collects a nasal sample with a swab then swirls it in a vial that is then placed into the test unit . In 30 minutes or less , the results can be read directly from the unit ’ s light-up display . Behind the scenes and science , however , the device is a single-use miniature laboratory , a molecular test that uses a real-time loop-mediated amplification reaction , providing accuracy similar to that of PCR tests that are run in high-complexity central labs .
“ I give the technical team huge kudos for the work they did in realizing the vision of transforming a central lab molecular diagnostic that runs on large machines to a tiny , fully disposable handheld device ,” says Engelson .
The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kits are now available for online sale to licensed U . S . healthcare providers . Learn more at lucirahealth . com
Doing a 180 °
FOR JACK CRAIG ’ 20 , developing an electronic skateboard company while still a student at UC San Diego gave him the know-how and international connections to put to use when COVID-19 struck . During the initial spread and winter surge of the virus , hospitals struggled to keep up with hard-to-find products , such as nitrile gloves , gowns and masks . The high demand for personal protective equipment , or PPE , made conditions ripe for a “ wild west ” where the highest bidder took all and left others struggling to find supplies . But Craig and other recent college grads sought to change the game and refine PPE procurement with the start of Pandemic Relief Supply ( PRS ).
PRS is primarily a software and logistics company that uses artificial intelligence to analyze U . S . import data and determine what ’ s coming in and where it ’ s located most consistently . That data is then added to a custom inventory management system , which PRS reps use to match the best product and supplier for each customer .
50 TRITON | SPRING 2021