Sanofi partners with Luminostics on developing COVID-19 smartphone

Sanofi and Luminostics will join forces on developing breakthrough COVID-19 smartphone, based on self-testing solution.

On April 16, both companies signed an agreement in Paris to evaluate a collaboration using Luminostics' innovative technology, and Sanofi's ongoing efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic on multiple fronts, a press release said.

Luminostics would contribute its proprietary technology for consumer-diagnostics for COVID-19 testing while Sanofi would bring its clinical research testing experience and capabilities.

The goal is to provide a smartphone-based solution that eliminates the current need for healthcare professional administration or laboratory tests.

"This partnering project could lead to another important milestone in Sanofi's fight against COVID-19. The development of a self-testing solution with Luminostics could help provide clarity to an individual – in minutes – on whether or not they are infected" says Alan Main, Executive Vice President, Head of Sanofi Consumer Healthcare.

"Following this week's announcement of an unprecedented partnership with GSK in the hunt for a vaccine, our company's ambition is to continue to find other ways to help solve this pandemic situation."

The goal of this collaboration is to provide a consumer-based test that can detect the COVID-19 virus with high sensitivity and specificity from respiratory samples. The total time from specimen collection to results is expected in the range of 30 minutes or less. It is based on Luminostics' unique technology that utilizes a consumer smartphone's optics, controlled by an iOS/Android app paired with an inexpensive adapter, in combination with "glow-in-the-dark" nanochemistry and signal processing artificial intelligence.