Amazon is pledging $20 million to accelerate diagnostics, research and testing in the fight against COVID-19.
The company announced the new Amazon Web Services (AWS) Diagnostic Development Initiative on Friday in collaboration with 35 global research institutions, startups and businesses. The program is also open to accredited research institutions and private companies seeking to develop point-of-care diagnostics, including at-home testing or clinical testing with same-day results.
Amazon says it will address three challenges:
- Accurate detection, which the company calls “the tip of spear for any effective pandemic response strategy.”
- Diagnostics research, which Amazon says “has historically been underfunded and largely deprioritized in favor of a focus on vaccines.”
- Reliable, scalable computing power for organizations working on diagnostics, along with analytics and machine learning.
The program’s advisory group will help set priorities, develop ways to securely share research findings, and connect customers and organizations that may be working independently to solve similar challenges.
“The world needs more and more private sector innovation to combat this pandemic,” said Steve Davis, a member of the World Health Organization’s digital health technical advisory group and the advisory group for the Amazon initiative, in a news release. “Amazon’s commitments and participation are very welcome, particularly since the lack of significant next-generation diagnostic tools remains a large gap in most health systems.”
Funding will be provided through a combination of AWS in-kind credits and technical support. Emphasis will be placed on combating the coronavirus, but the group will also consider diagnostic projects for other infectious diseases.
