Since planting its stake into the heart of the BioHealth Capital Region in 2021, digital diagnostics company Ellume has become a prominent fixture in the life sciences ecosystem and has its eyes on playing an even more important role in the lives of individuals with its at-home diagnostic tests.

The company that has its roots in Australia has rapidly expanded its presence in Maryland, recently celebrating the grand opening of its 215,000-square-foot production facility in Frederick. Driven by the need to produce its at-home COVID-19 diagnostics device, the site opened less than one year after signing a lease for the space. And now, with the new location open to produce COVID-19 tests, the company is ready to fill numerous positions at the production facility. Ellume will host an on-site career fair at its Frederick facility on April 26 in order to recruit high-quality candidates who are attracted to the company’s mission and culture.

Alicia J. Jones, Vice President of Human Resources at Ellume, said the company is hiring for a plethora of positions that will support its purpose-driven mission to improve healthcare outcomes across the United States and the globe. Ellume is seeking employees to fill roles in quality assurance, quality control, as well as multiple opportunities on the commercial side, where Jones noted there are opportunities in business development, project management, and sales. There are also supply chain roles that will need to be filled, she added.

Ellume is also hiring for engineering positions. Jones said the company is using brand new equipment that was designed for Ellume’s medical device production. Jones said the company’s lead engineers from Australia, as well as the designers of the equipment, have traveled to the Maryland site to train employees on the use of the equipment. But, it’s not just the engineering team that receives such personalized training. Jones said Ellume offers extensive in-house training to its employees, not only in engineering but in other areas of the company as well.

Although Ellume is an established medical device company, there is still something of a startup spirit within the company. Jones said there is a lot of self-direction for employees who are interested in exploring all the different facets of life within the company.

“There’s significant cross-functionality and cross-exposure at Ellume. People will have a non-linear path for advancement in the company,” Jones said. As an example, Jones pointed to an employee who began his career at Ellume in a production role but is now training to be an engineering Technician.

“There’s a high level of transparency at Ellume. If you want to see what it’s like in engineering, they’ll show you and educate you. That’s a pretty interesting environment for a company like ours,” Jones said.

Even as Ellume is anticipating adding numerous employees, Jones said the company is also planning to initiate a number of outreach programs to bolster diversity among its staff. While the plans are still in the development stage, Jones said Ellume wants to partner with different organizations across Maryland in order to highlight career opportunities at the company for veterans, the deaf community, and more.

Ellume’s primary focus is developing diagnostic tools for the detection of common infectious diseases that affect the global population, with an emphasis on at-home, point-of-care and in-laboratory diagnostic settings. Ellume first made its mark with its COVID-19 Home Test, the first rapid COVID-19 antigen self-test to be granted Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Jones said Ellume blazed a trail in medical devices by being first to cross the finish line for an at-home test during the pandemic.

“Having that at-home diagnostics was almost unheard of at the time. Outside of a pregnancy test, we just didn’t have anything like that,” Jones said.

Following the forging of a $231.8 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services, Ellume will supply millions of tests to the federal government. The test is also commercially available through CVS for at-home use. Ellume’s COVID-19 test rapidly detects infection in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. The diagnostic tool has played a key role in lowering the infection rates across the U.S. since it was first authorized. Not only that, the device has also provided countless families peace of mind by being able to rapidly determine if a loved one is sick with COVID-19, or a less threatening illness.

“It’s a good thing for a parent to know that you don’t have to drag your children out of bed to go to urgent care, you can walk to your medicine cabinet for the test,” Jones said. Playing on the name Ellume, Jones said the company is “illuminating a pathway” for people to receive the proper diagnosis and treatment to address your infection.

Beyond COVID-19, the company offers an influenza test and also recently forged a partnership with QIAGEN to develop a version of the QuantiFERON-based tuberculosis test. While tuberculosis (TB) may not seem to be a significant disease concern in the United States, Jones noted that the bacterial infection caused 1.5 million deaths across the globe, according to the World Health Organization.

With all the company has to offer, Ellume has made an impact on the BioHealth Capital Region since it arrived and will continue to do so as it scales in the coming years.

“We didn’t start out as a COVID company, but it is a testament to our people’s ingenuity and ability to rapidly respond and support our communities during a global health crisis Jones said.