U Of I's Saliva-Based COVID-19 Test Receives FDA Emergency Authorization

[Sherman A1]

CHAMPAIGN – A saliva-based COVID-19 test created by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA emergency use authorization was granted to the U of I’s test on the basis that it performs at least as well as a recently approved saliva-testing protocol developed at Yale University, setting a precedent that could allow other labs to follow suit.

The announcement was made at a press conference held by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Chicago Wednesday.As tens of thousands of students return this week for the start of the fall semester, labs on the Urbana campus have been operating around-the-clock, now running upwards of 10,000 tests per day, says U of I chemist Paul Hergenrother, who led the team that developed the saliva test.

Pritzker says he wants to see the test expanded across the state.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2020-08-20/u-of-is-saliva-based-covid-19-test-receives-fda-emergency-authorization