A new COVID-19 test developed at Rutgers University that uses saliva samples instead of nasal and throat swabs has gotten emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and is expected to be put out into the field as early as Wednesday.

The test will mean people will need only spit into a tube, rather than submit to swabbing deep into their nasal passages to obtain samples — the current conventional testing method that can be uncomfortable, often painful, and has limited testing nationwide.

Officials said the saliva tests, coupled with a genetic testing service for the coronavirus also developed at Rutgers that can process thousands of samples daily, offering a route to large-scale testing that will be able to greatly increase the numbers of people screened for COVID-19.

“It truly expands the ability to collect and test more samples, not just for us, but for everyone,” said Andrew Brooks, chief operating officer and director of technology development at Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics.

RUCDR developed the collection method and a new lab method to greatly increase the number of tests that can be done, in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs.

The saliva tests will initially be made available to the RWJBarnabas Health network, which has partnered with Rutgers University and includes Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick and University Hospital in Newark. Those tests will be initially deployed at a Middlesex County coronavirus drive-thru facility on Kilmer Road in Edison, for county residents and first responders, beginning Wednesday. Results are expected to be reported back within 24 to 48 hours, according to county officials.

The FDA granted emergency use authorization to RUCDR and its partners for the saliva collection approach on Friday, which officials said was the first such approval granted by the federal agency.

A saliva collection kit used to test for the coronavirus, which will allow people to spit into a tube, rather than submit to swabbing deep into their nasal passages to obtain samples for the detection of viral material.

The saliva samples will be analyzed at a Rutgers lab, which also received FDA approval, and will be able to analyze as many as 10,000 samples daily, by using automated lab equipment to perform “nuclear extractions” from collected specimens.

Whether by swab or saliva, the science for detecting COVID-19 is typically the same, utilizing what is known as “standard QPCR approaches.” It’s the same type of molecular analysis already being used in New Jersey. But while highly accurate, the turnaround time for the current testing is slow and the collection of samples through nose swabs is arduous and labor-intensive.

The saliva tests, together with new Rutgers-based lab, will make it possible to far expand testing capabilities, said Brooks, who also is a professor in the university’s Department of Genetics.

“We can significantly increase the number of people tested each and every day, as self-collection of saliva is more quick and scalable than swab collections," Brooks said.

Federal approval for the new tests came after RUCDR and its partners worked with the FDA over the past week, Brooks recalled. Last Friday, they finally got a phone call that emergency approval would be granted within 24 to 48 hours. “Three hours later, we got the written notification that Friday night,” he said.

Shortly after a call from the White House, Brooks said the research team was also contacted by chief executive officers of some of the world’s largest life sciences companies involved in COVID-19 testing, with questions about the technology.

“We will work closely with these new partners, the FDA and the White House task force to leverage everything Rutgers has to offer to not only help our community but also make a global impact,” said Brooks.

The saliva testing at the Kilmer Vehicle Inspection and Driving Testing Center in Middlesex will be rolled out gradually, initially doubling the county’s capacity with 300 to 500 additional tests daily.

"We have a rare advantage in such a critical time to be able to rapidly deploy increased testing capabilities and accelerated results, while protecting our frontline workers,” said Middlesex County Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios.

The Kilmer site will only offer the saliva test. A second county testing site at the Motor VehicleInspection Station in South Brunswick will only offer the current swab test, county officials said.

A Middlesex spokeswoman said people will have the option to choose which site — essentially which test — they would like to reserve, on a first-come, first-serve basis on Middlesex County’s reservation portal.

Brooks said saliva collection means that the time to obtain samples — up to 20 minutes a person with a swab — will also be reduced, while health care professionals will no longer be put at risk for infection by performing nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal collections.

He expects to see the new collection method expand throughout the RWJBarnabas Health network, including the testing of health care professionals at Robert Wood Johnson, and first responders who potentially are exposed to COVID-19 patients every day.

“The more people that are tested, the quicker we’ll understand what’s going on,” he said.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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