On May 20, 2020, just weeks after Bay Area-based Mammoth Biosciences announced its proprietary CRISPR-based diagnostics test for COVID-19 had a high degree of specificity even for asymptomatic patients, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati assisted Mammoth in striking a deal with GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare to accelerate development of the test in hopes of getting it in the hands of healthcare providers and consumers as soon as possible.

The two companies hope to begin seeking an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the test by the end of the year; the tool would first be available in clinical settings, and then later, it could be sold directly to consumers to use at home. By the time it is directly available to consumers, Mammoth says the diagnostics platform could be programmed to detect other infectious agents beyond COVID-19, including Zika virus or Ebola. It could also be programmed for more mundane illnesses, such as strep throat.

According to Mammoth CEO Trevor Martin, if EUA is granted, the expertise of GlaxoSmithKline will come in handy when it comes to scaling up the necessary manufacturing and distribution of the platform. Mammoth and GlaxoSmithKline did not disclose the financial details of their partnership.

The Wilson Sonsini team that represented Mammoth Biosciences in the transaction includes Ian Edvalson, David Pirko, and Keli Holzapfel.

For more information, please see a BioSpace article covering the deal.