Dublin-based medtech company Hibergene, which is working on a rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19, has secured funding of €1 million from the European Union for the project.
The company’s “Hg nCoV 19” test project is expected to deliver results within 60 minutes. Hibergene, which is working on the test with partners in China, Italy and the UK, recently fast-tracked development of the test, which it hopes could be on the market in months.
The European Commission said the project was the 18th programme it will support under its recent emergency call for research and innovation into the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
Overall, the commission is providing €48.5 million for the18 projects under its Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
The commission launched its emergency call in January. Following initial assessment, it announced selection of 17 projects on March 6th. Hibergene’s proposal was only added to the shortlist this Monday, however, having initially been suspended pending the provision of more information.
Backers
Founded by Brendan Farrell in 2009, the company's backers include OpenHydro co-founder Brendan Gilmore and Jim Shiggins, head of wealth management at Cantor Fitzgerald.
“Frontline health workers need to diagnose coronavirus more quickly and more accurately. This reduces the risk of further spread of the virus. I am happy that we can add another project to the EU-funded effort to develop rapid diagnostics,” said innovation commissioner Mariya Gabriel.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), which is part of the Health Service Executive, is a partner in one of the other selected projects, known as I-Move-Covid.
