4basebio AG announced its support to develop a faster and more sensitive test for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The Carlos III Health Institute (Instituto de Salud Carlos III) that belongs to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, will fund a research program that is aimed to develop a new way of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis based on Phi29 DNA polymerase amplification. 4basebio will supply the enzymes and technical support within this project. The suggested novel method is expected to have important advantages with respect to current PCR-based detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 infection: no reverse transcription required; performable at room temperature, bypassing the need for thermal cyclers; faster and cheaper; potentially increased sensitivity. The work schedule that is planned to be performed within 2 months will include the assay setup and validation, assay calibration and confirmation in clinical samples. The test should be ultimately performed at primary assistance centers with minimal equipment, and even constitute the basis for portable or disposable detection devices. Finally, in a longer term, it is worth noting that a similar principle could be also applied to the detection of other viral infections, and, as a matter of fact, of any nucleic acid target.