” href=”https://static.standaard.be/Assets/Images_Upload/2021/05/03/9bf65d08-ab79-11eb-a986-0a0d74d4485b.jpg?width=1152&format=jpg” target=”_blank”>
–
–
Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
An ambitious young company from Leuven wants to launch a super-fast and, in its own words, very accurate corona test this year. For that it needed 58 million euros. Marc Coucke is one of the lenders.
MiDiagnostics, a spin-off company of Imec, the nanoelectronics research center, is committed to launching the ‘holy grail for covid-19 tests’ this year. It is an ultra-fast pcr test that is much more reliable than the quick tests already on the market. Users take a sample with a nose swab and within 15 minutes they know if they are infected. The test was developed by Imec in conjunction with the American Johns Hopkins University.
MiDiagnostics believes there will be a great need for such fast and accurate PCR tests in the coming years, at airports, at work, at events and in doctor’s offices. It does come with a serious price tag: 120 to 140 euros per test.
The light for commercialization has been put on the green after a hefty financial injection. Three Flemish investors contributed 38 million euros. These are Marc Coucke, Urbain Vandeurzen and Michel Akkermans. They were already shareholders of miDiagnostics. The remaining EUR 20 million comes from the European Investment Bank in the form of a loan. (why)
–
