The FDA has joined a public-private diagnostic research project with the goal of bringing more real-world data to bear against the novel coronavirus, and gauging the accuracy of different kinds of tests.

Formed by the Reagan-Udall Foundation and Friends of Cancer Research, the COVID-19 Diagnostics Evidence Accelerator will work to collaborate with test manufacturers, technology companies and government and academic researchers, as well as professional societies, payers, and health systems.

It aims to provide real-world analyses evaluating the performance of both PCR and antibody tests—presented alongside coronavirus surveillance trends and research into the disease’s symptoms, progression and potential immunity—as a companion project to the groups’ previous Therapeutic Evidence Accelerator, which launched in April.

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