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Alphabet's life sciences arm Verily unveiled a coronavirus antibody research study to help determine the accuracy of serology tests— a research initiative aimed at better understanding coronavirus antibody testing. Verily is adapting its existing Project Baseline study to support the antibody research endeavor, the first initiative of which will be to roll out out serology testing to patients who have already taken a nasal swab test from Verily's testing program. For context, Verily erected four coronavirus testing sites across California early last month.
Verily's study could be instrumental in establishing the accuracy of coronavirus antibody tests and will add to its myriad coronavirus-specific healthcare initiatives. There are wide variations in the accuracy of different antibody tests — and Verily's research initiative could help the medical community better understand coronavirus immunity as many states prepare to reopen. For context, a number of vendors have released their own antibody tests amid the pandemic, but only a handful have gained FDA approval for use.
Researchers at UCSF and UC Berkeley have noted that dozens of tests performed reasonably well in determining antibodies within the first two weeks of infection — only to produce a greater number of false positives that exceed the number of infected people in some regions. As some states start to resume normal operations, they may rely on using positive antibody test results as "immunity passports" enabling consumers to return to work — but researchers are still uncertain whether a positive result guarantees immunity. And the discrepancies in test results add another layer of ambiguity, as serology tests have not yet been proven to be a reliable marker in determining whether an individual has coronavirus antibodies...
Verily's announcement (May 18, 2020):
https://blog.verily.com/2020/05/new-baseline-covid-19-research-project.html
