New COVID-19 test aims to use CRISPR gene-editing technology for home diagnostic tool

(Image credit: Hatim Kaghat/Belga Mag/AFP/Getty Images)

GlaxoSmithKline's consumer division is teaming up with California gene-editing startup Mammoth Biosciences to develop a rapid COVID-19 diagnostic test that could eventually be used at home, Mammoth said last week. The test would use Mammoth's CRISPR gene-editing technology as a diagnostic tool, returning results from a nasal swab within 20 minutes. Eventually, the two companies want to make the tests available for consumers over the counter, but they will start in clinics and hospitals.

"Using this CRISPR-based technology, you can actually create accurate tests, giving similar quality to what's in the lab but in a 'decentralized' format," said Mammoth CEO Trevor Martin. The companies expect to seek Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization by the end of 2020. "The CRISPR gene-editing platform has been hailed as a scientific breakthrough that could lead to cures for diseases driven by genetic mutations or abnormalities, but it has not yielded any approved treatments to date," Reuters notes.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.