Company announcements
Ellume and Cambridge Consultants Collaborate on Core Technology Behind Ellume’s Rapid Antigen COVID-19 Test
Today, digital diagnostics company Ellume highlights the revolutionary technology created in partnership with global product development and technology consultancy firm, Cambridge Consultants, part of the Capgemini Group. Together, the two companies have developed a next-generation, multi-component reader that combines optics, electronics and software, and powers the core technology behind the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test. Ellume’s test is the first rapid self-test for COVID-19 detection granted Emergency Authorization Use by the U.S. FDA for both asymptomatic and symptomatic use without a prescription. In February, Ellume announced a $231.8 million agreement with the U.S. government, including the delivery of 8.5 million Ellume COVID-19 Home Tests to support the U.S. government’s pandemic response and the establishment of Ellume’s first U.S. manufacturing facility.
The success of this test can be attributed in large part to the several years of work from the global, multidisciplinary team at Cambridge Consultants to create an ultrasensitive, optoelectronic detection system that is used across all of Ellume’s diagnostics products. This technology includes a sensitive, but inexpensive reader to detect and interpret the near-infrared photons emitted from a quantum dot captured at the test zones of a lateral flow test strip. The reader, coupled with Ellume’s supercharged fluorescent immunochromatography, delivers world-leading specificity and sensitivity.
“The Cambridge Consultants team’s dedicated work and novel approach helped us to create a highly accurate and quantitative digital immunoassay that is also affordable, robust and simple to use – the crucial elements at the heart of successful at-home testing,” said Dr. Sean Parsons, CEO and founder of Ellume. “At-home, rapid testing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the coming months. Without Cambridge Consultants and their continued partnership over the years, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve technical success.”
“Dr. Parsons came to us with a big challenge and a strong vision that together, we faced head on. At the time, we never knew the impact it would have on the COVID-19 epidemic,” said Nick Hawson, Senior Vice President for MedTech (US West) at Cambridge Consultants. “We’ve created a strong, long-lasting partnership with Ellume rooted in collaboration and innovation, and we hope we continue to find ways to use this technology in digital diagnostics and continue our impact on global health.”
The impact of this technology extends beyond the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, and even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the same core technology that Cambridge Consultants helped develop, Ellume has created two other COVID-19 diagnostic tests in the past year – the QIAREACH™ COVID-19 antigen and antibody tests for the laboratory market and ellume·lab COVID-19 serology and antigen tests for healthcare professionals (to be launched later in 2021). The company has also leveraged the core sensing breakthrough in its core technology for its rapid home flu test and diagnostic assay for tuberculosis. Not only are rapid tests like Ellume’s integral to stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but they could also play a critical role in tackling future pandemics and other infectious diseases across the globe.
Notes to editors
About Cambridge Consultants and Capgemini
About Cambridge Consultants
Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, services and intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 60 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 800 team members, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, energy and wireless communications.
About Capgemini Invent
As the digital innovation, design and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group, Capgemini Invent enables CxOs to envision and shape the future of their businesses. Located in nearly 40 studios and more than 60 offices around the world, it comprises a 10,000+ strong team of strategists, data scientists, product and experience designers, brand experts and technologists who develop new digital services, products, experiences and business models for sustainable growth.
Capgemini Invent is an integral part of Capgemini, a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organization of over 325,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong 55-year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2021 global revenues of €18 billion.
Get The Future You Want
Visit us at www.capgemini.com/invent
