As society wades into the waters of reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, a small Rockville company is working to get people tested fast.
Maxim Biomedical Inc. is developing two point-of-care tests for health care providers and organizations — think schools and universities — looking to screen for Covid-19. And it’s hoping to take those kits to market soon.
The medical diagnostics company is working with the National Institutes of Health, now a late-stage finalist in its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, or RADX, program.
Maxim awaits potential approval from the NIH for the diagnostics it’s developing, said Jonathan Maa, its chief operating officer. That would set up the company to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration at the beginning of October if all goes according to plan, he said. “We’re actively working on scaling up manufacturing right now.”
The test itself is unique, he said, because it doesn’t require what’s called a reader — an external piece of equipment to interpret and deliver results. Rather, it entails a nose swab with a quick “positive” or “negative” readout, similar to a pregnancy test.
“We recognized pretty early on that there was a need for these sorts of tests; high-quality, rapid tests that are very low cost to produce and make testing a lot more accessible to a lot more people — and that’s right in our wheelhouse,” Maa said. “So we saw an opportunity for us to leverage our expertise in that field and make an impact.”
Maa’s parents started the business in 2005 with a focus on testing for infectious diseases such as HIV. Its model has largely involved working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense. In the past decade, it has also added contract manufacturing for private clients, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, Maa said, declining to disclose revenue. Maa, 25, and his sisters, ages 29 and 22, work alongside their parents at the company, though the elder generation runs it as “the brains of the operation,” he said.
Maxim is simultaneously working with the CDC to develop a rapid HIV test for the national testing program. But the company’s coronavirus work remains high on the priority list; it’s now looking to develop an at-home test for Covid-19, Maa said. “It’s almost like we’re starting a brand new business.”
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Washington Business Journal. It appears here in an abbreviated form. See the original post here.