Kettering’s Business Lab Special Interest Group (SIG) has been a great incubator for innovative companies that offer new and disruptive technologies in various industries. After leading the SIG for a few years, I wanted to share Kettering’s work with Quorum X Diagnostics (QXD) since it is particularly relevant to the developments around COVID-19 this year.

On August 20th, 2019 Dr. Maria M. Nagy, CEO of QXD, presented her medical diagnostics company to the Business Lab SIG. She her explained efforts to develop a point of care diagnostic tool that will enable the practitioner to identify the microbe causing an infection within minutes. This will allow the clinicians to better prescribe an appropriate antibiotic in a timely manner.

Several weeks ago, I received a call from Dr. Nagy and learned that QXD has been refocusing their efforts on the recent pandemic. They believe that they have developed the science for a point of care test kit, which is similar to an existing product, the QXD-1 Fast Test for Pseudomonal Pneumonia (QXD-1). Called the QXD-3 COVID NOW, it could become the first 15 min at-home COVID antigen test.

Dr. Nagy said “Think of this like a pregnancy test, but for COVID. This is an antigen test, which identifies ACTIVE infections, unlike the antibody tests which screen for past infections.” Additionally, the QXD-3 can be used independently or together with a smartphone reading app for easier reading, data collection, and direct connectivity to a telemedicine service. QXD plans to leverage their network for distribution and marketing to get the tests into the hands of people. The patent-pending QXD-3 COVID NOW test consists of a working prototype, an identified manufacturer, they’ve acquired potential hospitals for clinical work, and have a potential collaboration with Physician 360 as a distribution channel. QXD has also submitted their QXD-3 test to the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program at the National Institute of Health (NIH). The RADx program is funded by a $1.5B investment from federal stimulus funding and is intended to speed development of rapid and widely accessible COVID-19 testing by funding early innovative technologies.

If all goes well, QXD plans to have the COVID NOW product in the market by the end of the summer.

Kettering’s work with Quorum X Diagnostics is a great example of what the Business Lab SIG is all about. We’re focused on helping fellow Kettering members enhance, advance and grow their business – whether they own their company or work for a larger corporation. During each meeting, one or two organizations present a business situation to a panel of experienced business leaders and receive feedback in the form of targeted questions and suggestions. It's a safe, confidential and challenging environment to take your business to the next level. Meeting on the 2nd Tuesday morning of each month, all Kettering members are welcome. Check out the event calendar to register for next month’s session or contact me for more details.