Andrew Brooks, who led development of first FDA-approved Covid-19 saliva test, dies at 51

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Her sister, Janet Green, confirmed to CNN on Sunday that the cause of death was a heart attack. She called him “an intellect, an extraordinary scientist, an incredible father … an incredible family man”.

Brooks, 51, was the chief operating officer and director of technology development at RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the lab that developed the saliva test. The test, which was approved in April 2020, was cleared for home use a month later.
FDA clears Covid-19 saliva test for emergency use

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called Brooks “one of our state’s unsung heroes” at a Jan. 25 press conference, saying his work “has undoubtedly saved lives.”

“We can’t thank Andy enough for everything he has done during his career,” said Murphy. “He will be sadly missed by many.”

Last year, Brooks spoke about the impact of saliva testing as an alternative to nasal PCR testing for healthcare workers.

“This means that we no longer have to put healthcare professionals at risk of infection by taking nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs,” he said in a statement at the time. “We can keep valuable personal protective equipment for patient care rather than testing. We can dramatically increase the number of people tested each day because U-pick saliva is faster and more scalable than swab collections. All of this combined will have a huge impact on testing in New Jersey and the United States. “

Brooks is survived by his mother, sister, wife and three daughters, as well as a niece and nephew, according to the Rutgers statement.

CNN’s Heather Law contributed to this report.

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