What would be the probable cost of your future rapid analysis of the coronavirus?
I estimate that the cost of our analysis would be approximately one euro, while that of the analysis currently used in Estonia is roughly 100 euros – the Roche analysis kit costs 80 – 85 euros plus the cost of protection gear and logistics.
How quickly would your analysis provide the answer?
In the ideal case the result would take 20 minutes, while it presently takes, dependent on logistics, up to 24 hours. We are cooperating with a partner whose device, thanks to modern technology, can identify the indications rapidly and accurately. The key components in this work are the virus proteins and sensitive, quick-response antibodies.
You also participate in the grant application.
We have three directions in the treatment opportunities project. First the antibodies, which have the effect of neutralizing the virus, secondly intracellular drugs and thirdly cell therapy.
We have cooperation partners in all three directions in Estonia, Europe, the USA and Canada. We are testing the developed applications on monkeys, because our French partner has a large colony of macaques and they also have the model of the spreading of the coronavirus. We can place our therapeutic antibodies in the model and make sure that they actually present the virus.