Avalon Globocare

•  Avalon Globocare is a leading global bio-developer in CellTech therapy which also commercializes COVID-19 diagnostics and treatments.
• On August 19, 2020, Avalon announced its commercialization partnership agreement with Cellex to market a COVID-19 antibody-based rapid test.
• Avalon will work Cellex to identify manufacturing facilities to develop next-generation detection kits for COVID-19.
• CEO David Jin said, "We look forward to leveraging our international network of strategic partners to commercialize this differentiated COVID-19 rapid test. "

3M

•  3M is a global applied science company developing solutions in healthcare, safety, energy and other industries.
• The company has 96,000 employees around the world and boasts of $32 billion in sales.
• On July 14, 2020, 3M announced its partnership with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop a novel COVID-19 rapid test.
• 3M will contribute its expertise in manufacturing global medical devices as well as in biomaterials and bioprocessing.
• The company looks to scale production to millions of units per day as soon as the test is validated.
• MIT and 3M will also avail of commercialization support from the U.S. National Institute of Health once the rapid test passes review from an experts panel.
• 3M's Chief Technology Officer John Banovetz said, "We are seeking to improve the speed, accessibility and affordability of testing for the virus, a major step in helping to prevent its spread."

VH6 Partners

• On June 29, 2020, three universities in the UK announced a partnership deal with GB Electronics (UK) Ltd, Inovo Robotics and Unique Secure to develop and commercialize a COVID-19 rapid test called Virus Hunter 6 (VH6).
•  GB Electronics is an electronics design company that manufactures electronic prototypes, components, and related products.
•  Inovo Robotics develops, manufactures and commercializes electronics and robotics.
•  Unique Secure is located in Surrey Research Park and manufactures innovative technology products.
• Together, the three commercial partners will work to fast track development of the rapid test and make it available for public use as soon as possible.
• Brunel University's Professor Wamadeva Balachandran said, "I am delighted that GB Electronics, Inovo Robotics and Unique Secure have joined us on this exciting project, their expertise will help accelerate the development of this test on a mass scale to minimise loss of lives."
• Inovo Robotics' co-founder Henry Woods said, "We will be using our commercial experience in electronics design and manufacturing to bring a robust and scalable product to market as quickly as possible."

COVID-19 Rapid Test Market Leaders

• The market report "COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits Global Market Report 2020-30: COVID-19 Implications and Growth" identified several major players as of July 21, 2020.
• These are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Abbot Laboratories, BioMedomics, CTK Biotech, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche.
• Other leading players include Cepheid Inc., Cellex Inc., Acumen Research Laboratories, and Biolidics, LabCorp.
•  Forbes also identified notable companies in the private sector which are leading the way in COVID-19 testing.
• These include Abbott, Amazon, BioMérieux, Camtech Diagnostics, Cellex, Cepheid, Credo and Menarini, and CVS Health among others.
• Other notable companies in COVID-19 testing include DiaSorin, Diesse Diagnostica Senese, Mesa Biotech, Puritan Medical Products, and Walgreens Boots Alliance among others.

Summary