COVID-19 National DiagnOstic Research and Evaluation Platform (CONDOR)

The international demand for accurate diagnostics to improve patient health and optimise healthcare resources in the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is steadily increasing. In response to the pandemic, the life sciences industry has seen an influx of new in vitro diagnostic tests (IVDs). However, recent evaluations of these diagnostics are mainly single centred, employ differing reference standards with variable protocols which means limited comparability between tests and ultimately a longer time to useful results to guide clinical care. Leveraging our existing infrastructure and collective expertise, we propose to work as a collaborative national platform for COVID-19 diagnostics research and evaluation. To ensure a methodologically robust, standardised approach to the evaluation process and to avoid duplication of effort, we will mobilise a network of hospital laboratories, primary and secondary care settings and care homes. CONDOR will deliver rapid, robust evaluation of medical tests to support diagnosis and management of patients with suspected COVID-19. This collaborative platform will also place the UK in a unique position to rapidly evaluate and adopt novel diagnostics into clinical practice when faced with future pandemics. The platform has 4 elements: 1) A central triage point for novel diagnostics through an expert steering committee 2) Analytical performance evaluation of IVDs (molecular, antigen and antibody tests) via a laboratory network 3) Evaluation of clinical performance (diagnostic accuracy) of IVDs (self-tests, POCTs and laboratory platforms) in established clinical networks 4) Cross cutting workstreams. a. Care pathway analysis for COVID-19 diagnostics b. Evaluating utility and usability in laboratory and clinical settings