OraSure Technologies of Bethlehem received the funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' biomedical advanced research arm.
Stephen Tang, OraSure’s president and CEO, said the test relies on saliva instead of blood to learn whether someone has COVID-19 antibodies present — that would indicate the individual already has been exposed to the virus and may develop an immunity.
Tang said his company has been working on the antibody test in concert with research on another saliva-based test to determine whether one is actually infected with COVID-19.
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“I think until we find a therapeutic — a way to treat the disease — and then a vaccine — which will eradicate the disease — we have little more than to know whether we’re infectious or whether we’ve been infected,” Tang said. “And, the antibody test will tell us if we’ve been infected. And once you’ve mounted immunity to COVID-19, according to the current science, it’s very likely that you won’t get it again.”
He said the antibody test should be available by prescription from your doctor sometime this summer.
The other test to detect whether someone has COVID-19 should be out by fall, he said.