NIH announces $1.5 billion, ‘Shark Tank’-like initiative to accelerate Covid-19 testing
WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health on Wednesday announced a new $1.5 billion initiative to rapidly develop coronavirus diagnostics, an effort it says will result in the deployment of “millions of tests per week” by late summer or fall of this year.
The agency said the effort relies on a “national Covid-19 testing challenge” in which scientists and inventors developing coronavirus tests across the country will compete for a share of a $500 million pool earmarked for diagnostic development. Successful entrants will eventually be paired with manufacturers and business experts who can help to quickly scale up production of any tests developed during the project.
