UAE, Israeli Cos to work on detecting COVID in 30 seconds

ABU DHABI: G42 Healthcare, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42 (G42), announced today it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NanoScent, an Israeli company specialised in scent reading technologies, to explore collaborations in the development, validation, distribution and manufacturing of Scent Check - a revolutionary solution capable of detecting suspected cases of Covid-19 from a sample of exhaled nasal air. The Scent Check device detects a combination of volatile organic compounds, or “VOC Signature”, from exhaled nasal air that is derived from the host response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The air sample is seamlessly captured through an “Air trap”, a small bag fitted with a straw in which the tested subject needs to blow nasal air. A machine learning based model is then used to analyze, diagnose and label the VOC Signature and provide the result of the test in 30 to 60 seconds.

The non-invasiveness and the rapidity of results give Scent Check the potential to transform the diagnostics industry globally. The solution enables testing in both large and small settings, without the need for complex infrastructure and cost-efficiently.

Executives from both companies took part in a signing ceremony held via video conference between the UAE and Israel. During the event, they discussed ways of leveraging respective expertise and technologies to expedite the launch of the solution in a phase in which, given the absence of a vaccine, the most effective way to break the transmission patterns of COVID-19 is mass-testing.

Ashish Koshy, CEO of G42 Healthcare, commented: “At G42 Healthcare we are at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 and committed to developing impactful innovative programs and solutions to improve and safeguard public health. Through this collaboration with NanoScent, we will be adding another powerful solution to our comprehensive diagnostics portfolio, which already includes PCR and LamPORE testing. This partnership also reaffirms the need to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic through a joint global effort in which best-in-breed organizations share their expertise and technologies for the benefit of society.

Oren Gavriely, CEO of NanoScent, said: Back in 2009 I drove all the way from New York to Washington DC for a conference organized by Jordan. Many companies were presenting the advancements in the Middle East and I realized that Israel is not part of the Middle East in many senses. Now NanoScent is fortunate to take part in redefining the Middle East by providing cutting edge Covid-19 screening technologies to open the borders.

G42 Healthcare, which has been recently leading the operations of the world’s first Phase III clinical trial for the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine and various other population-scale programs, will conduct thousands of tests of the new solution in the coming weeks to validate its efficacy and increase its accuracy prior market launch.