Thread by @michaelmina_lab

The federal govnt recently awarded 3M and MIT $500,000 to prove a cheap paper strip test could be scaleable.

This is a microcosm of so much that is wrong. We are putting billions upon billions into vaccines and therapies.... 1/n

fiercebiotech.com/medtech/3m-pai…

Diagnostics on the other hand are still relying on tests developed decades ago and the dollars for innovation are less than 1% of that going to vaccines/therapies.

Meanwhile, cheap simple tests can exist now get us out of this mess. But they have never been prioritized... 2/n

Reimbursements and investments are extraordinarily heavily skewed towards the biological we put into people.

75%+ of medical decisions are centered around diagnostics. Our whole control strategy relies on PCR tests. Instead of $500k going to 3M, it should be $500M 3/3

In fairness, there is national competition to distribute up to $1.5B towards diagnostics.

But I have serious concern that the focus will be on the most sophisticated or accurate tests, vs deployable. This will drive up prices and slow rollout.

fiercebiotech.com/medtech/nih-ta…

Until a new avenue at FDA opens up that considers the context in which tests are used, there will remain a focus on getting tests to pass current EUA clinical standards.

These are clinical standards, not surveillance. We need a surveillance specific approval pathway.