Testing Methods Sourcing Platform launched in partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Bioindustry Association, British In Vitro Diagnostics Association and the Royal College of Pathologists. 

The partnership is seeking new and novel solutions to help deliver 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April. They have set four challenges and invite researchers with relevant expertise to add solutions, ideas, comments and any other responses to these challenges.

#TestingMethods2020. Every idea will be evaluated by specialists. The four challenge areas are:

  • Dry swabs for use in coronavirus detection
  • Transport media that inactivates the virus
  • Desktop PCR for point of care testing
  • RNA extraction: new methods

From the website, accessible here:

The partnership has set this up as an open platform so we can share and build on each other’s experiences and ideas. We hope that you will add to the content of this platform in that spirit. You can register to contribute in seconds, either with your email address or by signing in with your social media account (Twitter, Facebook, Google or LinkedIn). If you would prefer to put your idea forward confidentially to the closed part of this website, you can do this too by clicking on the ‘Private Submission’ tab at the top of the page.

Please tell other people who might be able to contribute to these solutions about the platform. You can tweet about it using the hashtag #TestingMethods2020.