Austin, TX – Oct 28, 2020 – Austin-based healthcare startup Robin MD has received a $100,000 grant from the Austin Emergency Supply Foundation to “support the validation and launch of a new population screening test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” Robin MD CEO James Coan said on Wednesday.
“A ton of work has been done since the beginning of the pandemic to expand access to individual diagnostic tests, and to bring better, faster, cheaper tests to market,” said Coan, “but until now, there hasn’t been an easy and cost-effective way for essential businesses, schools, and other organizations to regularly screen an entire population to prevent outbreaks.”
Robin MD worked closely with Austin Emergency Supply Foundation and national partner laboratories to develop the new test, which is based on RT-PCR analysis of pooled saliva samples.
“We leverage a user-friendly mobile app to simply and anonymously enroll employees or students in 10 to 30-person sample pools when they arrive at work or school,” Coan explained. “Pooled samples are analyzed the same day they’re collected by an ISO-certified Robin MD partner lab, using the same proven RT-PCR process used to clinically diagnose individual patients with COVID-19. If SARS-CoV-2 is detected in a pool, all participants enrolled in that pool are notified not to report to work or school the next day and are automatically connected with a licensed provider on Robin MD’s care platform for clinical evaluation and an individual diagnostic test.”
“This isn’t a replacement for individual diagnostic tests,” said Coan, “it’s a way to screen an entire population regularly for as little as $5 per person, making it possible for the first time to consistently identify and quarantine new cases within an employee or student population before further transmission occurs.”
“We are excited to partner with an innovative startup like Robin MD that’s thinking outside the box,” said Jonathan Coon, founder of Austin Emergency Supply Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit formed in March, 2020 to distribute free and low-cost PPE, and to support innovative testing and treatment programs for COVID-19.
About Robin MD
Headquartered in Austin, TX, Robin MD provides on-demand healthcare and COVID-19 testing services to employer health plans, hospital and clinic systems, and individual consumers in Texas, Oklahoma, California, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida.
For more information, visit https://robin.md.
About Austin Emergency Supply Foundation
Founded in March, 2020 by Jonathan Coon (founder of 1800contacts), Austin Emergency Supply Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit focused on the distribution of free and low-cost PPE, and the support of innovative testing and treatment programs for COVID-19.
For more information, visit https://atxsupply.org
Media Contact
Company Name: Robin MD
Contact Person: James Coan
Email: Send Email
Phone: 608-630-4491
Address:5323 Levander Loop
City: Austin
State: TX 78702
Country: United States
Website: www.robin.md
