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Rapid Testing: From Zika to COVID and Beyond
Rapid Testing: From Zika to COVID and Beyond
WET LAB AND STARTUP BUSINESS INCUBATOR
RAPID TESTING FROM ZIKA TO COVID AND BEYOND
Developing ways to detect viruses is tricky and complex.With the warming weather, comes mosquito season. I was hoping that the silver lining of the freeze in February would be the slow down or delay of their wrath, but it doesn’t appear that that’s happened. Only a few years ago, the idea of getting bitten by a mosquito was made worse by the threat of the Zika virus that was causing birth defects from pregnant women getting bitten by Zika infected mosquitos. At that point Nuclein co-founders Alan Blake and Richard Crockett started their work on an at-home diagnostic device that would detect such infections early on. They imagined that once it was developed, it could be used for any assortment of infectious diseases. Nuclein set up their lab at the Bioscience Incubator and were diligently working on their device when word of an impending SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hit. They immediately realized the profound effect that their device could have on this crisis and quickly pivoted to the detection of the coronavirus as their target. To know Rich and Alan is to know that, as seasoned entrepreneurs, they go big. Having done well with their previous endeavor, they had the resources to grow very robustly and very quickly. In fact, they grew so quickly that they went from 3 lab members in March to more than we could accommodate at ABI by August when they had no choice to but to build their own lab to expand operations. Since then they have hired more people, made huge progress on their device, raised $14M and have already outgrown their newly built 10,000 sq. ft. lab space. As they expand their new lab space, it will accommodate the remaining projects they have been working on at ABI. We will miss their presence and wish them all the best as they graduate from the incubator this month.I welcome you to listen to Alan and Rich’s story in our latest episode of "Science in the Mall, Y’all" and hear about their past 30 years as friends and business partners (yes, they met in 6th grade!). Here they recount the wild ride of the dot com bust of the early 2000s and the rise and exit from their previous company, Glofish. Here’s hoping that they can get FDA approval on their device soon and let the rest of us benefit from it.Nancy LyonInterim DirectorListen on your favorite platform:YouTube // Acast // SoundCloud // Spotify // iTunes // Google Play // Stitcher
“Austin startup Nuclein might become known as the company that made an at-home Covid-19 test that’s so easy you just spit in a can, press a button and wait about an hour for results."
Read the full Austin Inno story:
Nuclein is hiring!
Nuclein is putting their money to good use by adding scientists, engineers, and quality professionals to our amazing team.
Human Resource Generalist
Accounting Controller
Project Manager
Assembly Technician
Scientist I
Scientist II
Senior Scientist, Assay Development
Quality Associate
for the discussions that will give an insight into the lives and works of Nobel Laureates, and tackle topical issues such as how digital tools are changing science. The event will take place over two days, and you are free to join whichever sessions you wish.
The Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative Austin will feature three laureates:
Elizabeth Blackburn received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."
Andrew Fire received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA.”
Robert Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis."
Take the Survey (5 mins)
and the ACC Bioscience Incubator are working together to compile a comprehensive list of the life science companies that call Central Texas their home. If you have not already filled out this questionnaire to have your company represented, please do so. I think that we as an ecosystem are larger than people think and I am determined to show that with data.
Save The Date
Save the date for the next Live-N-Learn featuring ABI Interim Director, Nancy Lyon, and former ABI Director, Tyler Drake.
Friday, May 7th at 12PM CST.
Follow ABI on social to RSVP
Join ABI
ACC Bioscience Incubator companies are centered in the life sciences. Even though ABI is part of Austin Community College, any company can apply.
If you are in need of a
environment for your manufacturing, ABI has a 400sq ft ISO 8 room available for lease. This room has been used for an FDA regulated application and is ready for your project.
ABI & partners launch a consortium to support innovators fighting COVID-19 and future pandemics
The Texas Global Health Security Innovation Consortium (TEXGHS) is a consortium between academia, public sector, and private sector partners to coordinate efforts to support companies working towards pandemic preparedness and response in Texas.
Visit texghs.org for more information.A special congratulations to TEXGHS for the awarding of the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge grant.
ABI Member Companies
ABI would like to welcome member company BioBQ to our family. BioBQ is a cultivated meat company, growing meat using cells from the animals, rather than the slaughtered parts of animals. Based in Austin, known for BBQ, they aim to be the first to offer cultivated beef jerky and beef brisket. The foundation of their BioBQing process is a unique cell scaffolding technology that helps create tasty layers and marbling.
