Fred Turner (entrepreneur)

Last updated

Fred Turner is biotechnology entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Curative, Inc. [1] [2] [3] [4] He was featured in the Science Council list of top 100 practicing scientists in the UK in 2013 and was ranked #1 in the European Union Contest for Young Scientist in 2013. [5] [6] Turner was also featured on the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science list. [7]

Contents

Early life and education

As a 17-year old, Fred won the UK's Young Engineer of the Year Award for building a PCR device intended to find the gene responsible for his brother's red hair. [3] He went to Oxford to study biochemistry but dropped out. [4]

Career

Turner moved from the UK to San Francisco to found TL BioLabs, which made genetic tests for cow herds. TL was backed by the Thiel Foundation. [8] The company pivoted and rebranded to Shield Bio, which had a focus on diagnostic testing for gonorrhea and sepsis. [4] It was backed by a16z [9] and Y-Combinator and the testing was made available to over 10,000 patients in medical centers. [10]

Following Shield Bio's closing, Turner founded Curative to focus on improving outcomes for sepsis patients, but the company quickly turned focus to COVID-19 diagnostics in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. [11]

Related Research Articles

Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Green Oaks, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known drugs; today, it sells medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic medicines and nutritional products. It split off its research-based pharmaceuticals business into AbbVie in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point-of-care testing</span> Diagnostic testing performed at or near the point of care

Point-of-care testing (POCT), also called near-patient testing or bedside testing, is defined as medical diagnostic testing at or near the point of care—that is, at the time and place of patient care. This contrasts with the historical pattern in which testing was wholly or mostly confined to the medical laboratory, which entailed sending off specimens away from the point of care and then waiting hours or days to learn the results, during which time care must continue without the desired information.

Justin Kan is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of live video platforms Justin.tv and Twitch, as well as the mobile social video application Socialcam. He was also the co-founder and former CEO of law-tech company Atrium before it was shut down in March 2020. In 2021, he launched NFT marketplace Fractal, which was renamed to Stash in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Rothberg</span> American scientist and entrepreneur (born 1963)

Jonathan Marc Rothberg is an American scientist and entrepreneur. He is best known for his contributions to next-generation DNA sequencing. He resides in Miami, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical laboratory</span> Principles of management with special reference to medical science

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical medical laboratories are an example of applied science, as opposed to research laboratories that focus on basic science, such as found in some academic institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lateral flow test</span> Immunochromatographic testing devices

A lateral flow test (LFT), is an assay also known as a lateral flow device (LFD), lateral flow immunochromatographic assay, or rapid test. It is a simple device intended to detect the presence of a target substance in a liquid sample without the need for specialized and costly equipment. LFTs are widely used in medical diagnostics in the home, at the point of care, and in the laboratory. For instance, the home pregnancy test is an LFT that detects a specific hormone. These tests are simple and economical and generally show results in around five to thirty minutes. Many lab-based applications increase the sensitivity of simple LFTs by employing additional dedicated equipment. Because the target substance is often a biological antigen, many lateral flow tests are rapid antigen tests.

Andreessen Horowitz is a private American venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As of April 2023, Andreessen Horowitz ranks first on the list of venture capital firms by assets under management, with $42 billion as of May 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Doudna</span> American biochemist and Nobel laureate (born 1964)

Jennifer Anne Doudna is an American biochemist who has pioneered work in CRISPR gene editing, and made other fundamental contributions in biochemistry and genetics. Doudna was one of the first women to share a Nobel in the sciences. She received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with Emmanuelle Charpentier, "for the development of a method for genome editing." She is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair Professor in the department of chemistry and the department of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exact Sciences Corp.</span> American company in Madison, United States

Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company based in Madison, Wisconsin specializing in the detection of early stage cancers. The company's initial focus was on the early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer; in 2014 it launched Cologuard, the first stool DNA test for colorectal cancer. Since then Exact Sciences has grown its product portfolio to encompass other screening and precision oncological tests for other types of cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyrocare</span> Indian medical diagnostic company

Thyrocare Technologies Limited is an Indian multinational chain of diagnostic and preventive care laboratories, headquartered in Navi Mumbai. As of 2021, the company has a total of 1,122 outlets and collection centers across India and parts of Nepal, Bangladesh and the Middle East.

Abionic SA is a company specialized in the development of ultra-rapid in vitro diagnostic tests, located in Lausanne, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 testing</span> Diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus infection

COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral presence through its molecular components are used to diagnose individual cases and to allow public health authorities to trace and contain outbreaks. Antibody tests instead show whether someone once had the disease. They are less useful for diagnosing current infections because antibodies may not develop for weeks after infection. It is used to assess disease prevalence, which aids the estimation of the infection fatality rate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronavirus breathalyzer</span> Diagnostic medical device

A coronavirus breathalyzer is a diagnostic medical device enabling the user to test with 90% or greater accuracy the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an exhaled breath. As of the first half of 2020, the idea of a practical coronavirus breathalyzer was concomitantly developed by unrelated research groups in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, United Kingdom and USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opentrons</span> Bioscience liquid handler manufacturer

Opentrons Labworks, Inc. is a biotechnology company that manufactures liquid handling robots that use open-source software, which at one point used open-source hardware but no longer does. Their robots can be used by scientists to manipulate small volumes of liquids for the purpose of undertaking biochemical or chemical reactions. Currently, they offer the OT-2 and Flex robots. These robots are used primarily by researchers and scientists interested in DIY biology, but they are increasingly being used by other biologists.

Curative Inc. is a health care startup company best known for scaling COVID-19 testing and COVID-19 vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2022, Curative Inc. launched Curative Insurance Company, a new health insurance plan featuring no copays and no deductibles. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with employees throughout the United States, the company was founded in January 2020 by Fred Turner, Isaac Turner, and Vlad Slepnev to create new diagnostic tests for sepsis and to improve outcomes for sepsis patients. In response to an urgent, unmet need for COVID-19 test development and production in the United States, Curative rapidly shifted focus in March 2020. The company's research team developed a new test for SARS-CoV-2 that utilized oral swabs rather than nasopharyngeal swabs. The Curative test was designed with a scalable process and opportunities to reduce healthcare worker exposure risk, and therefore the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) used. An independent manufacturing and supply chain model was adopted to avoid competing with existing COVID-19 test companies for limited supplies and laboratory capacity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Sawyer</span>

Dr. Sara Lea Sawyer is a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. She has received national and international prizes in virology. In 2011 she was as awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Barack Obama at the White House. She serves as a Senior Editor at the journal eLIFE, and as a government consultant on the topic of pandemic preparedness. In 2020, she co-founded Darwin Biosciences, an infectious disease diagnostics company located in Boulder, Colorado. In 2022, she was awarded the National Institutes of Health Director’s “Pioneer” award. Her research focuses on animal viruses that infect humans, including HIV-1, and the evolution of the immune system.

Seegene, Inc is a Korean manufacturer of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products, particularly molecular diagnostics. Its portfolio includes a range of assays and screening products for sepsis, respiratory diseases such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, as well as sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It was founded in 2000. In early 2020, it began developing and distributing a range of tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Alexander L. Greninger is assistant director of the UW Medicine Clinical Virology Laboratory and a UW associate professor of Laboratory Medicine. His research is focused on genomic and proteomic characterization of a variety of human viruses and bacteria, with a focus on respiratory viruses and human herpesviruses.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering is a cross-disciplinary research institute at Harvard University focused on bridging the gap between academia and industry by drawing inspiration from nature's design principles to solve challenges in health care and the environment. It is focused on the field of biologically inspired engineering to be distinct from bioengineering and biomedical engineering. The institute also has a focus on applications, intellectual property generation, and commercialization.

References

  1. ↑ "COVID-19 Testing at Scale while Reimagining Healthcare: An Interview with Curative Cofounders Fred Turner, Isaac Turner, and Vlad Slepnev". Cell Systems. 11 (4): 329–330. 21 October 2020. doi:10.1016/j.cels.2020.09.010. PMC   7577258 .
  2. ↑ Darmieto, Laurence (24 May 2021). "COVID-19 turned a tiny start-up into a testing giant. But can its results be trusted?". LA Times . Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 "DNA Testing Machine: Fred Turner, UK Teen, Builds DNA Testing Machine In His Bedroom". Huffington Post . 6 April 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Fred Turner, Curative's boy wonder, suffers negative result". The Times . 6 April 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Staff (17 January 2014). "The UK's 100 leading practising scientists". Times Higher Education .
  6. ↑ Deighton, Ben (25 September 2013). "Home DNA lab wins EU young scientist prize". ec.europa.eu.
  7. ↑ Knapp, Alex (November 14, 2017). "30 Under 30 In Science: Inventing The Future One Atom At A Time". Forbes .
  8. ↑ Osher, Christopher (8 May 2021). "Colorado's troubled partnership with California COVID-19 testing firm". The Gazette (Colorado Springs) . Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Investments". a16z.
  10. ↑ "Shield Bio Profile". Y Combinator.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Madliene (23 April 2020). "Curative, KorvaLabs Partner to Create High-Throughput COVID-19 Oral Fluid Testing Lab". GenomeWeb . Retrieved 29 June 2021.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.