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Coralville biotech company to produce millions of test kits for coronavirus

March 18, 2020

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) in Coralville announced on Monday that it has received approval to make kits to test for coronavirus.

As of March 9th, IDT had manufactured more than one million CDC-approved tests primer and probe kits. Beginning this week, the company expects to produce enough primer and probe kits for 5 million tests on a weekly basis.

Integrated DNA Technologies was the first company in the nation to have their kits approved by the UCDC. In addition to producing the 5 million primer and probe kits for coronavirus tests each week, IDT will also continue to supply another great need. They’ll be producing those same kits for research laboratories who are working to develop a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.

“We are honored to be the first company in the nation to have our primer and probe kits approved by the CDC for use as a key component of the CDC EUA testing protocol for the diagnosis and detection of COVID-19,” said IDT President Trey Martin, in an announcement.

All kits are being manufactured at the Coralville headquarters in cleanrooms to prevent contamination. The company has previously developed components of tests for the Ebola and Zika viruses and H1N1.

Tags: Integrated DNA Technologies

2 Comments

Shaban Hajdari

Posted March 19, 2020 at 7:36 am

This is actually really good news. I have heard that there is a town in the states that managed to preemptively stop the spread by blanket testing all its 3000+ inhabitants. This is really good news.

https://aab-edu.net/

0Likes
Ben Milne

Posted March 21, 2020 at 2:32 pm

This is great to read! Does anyone know how many of these test kits will be delivered to Iowa hospitals and made available to people in Iowa? So thankful IDT is here.

0Likes

Comments are closed.

Coralville biotech company to produce millions of test kits for coronavirus | Clay & Milk

A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.

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