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Pharma Tech Outlook | Wednesday, July 29, 2020
This rapid serological test kit for COVID-19 by MP Biomedicals and A*STAR will complement global efforts to develop more efficient diagnostics, as the COVID-19 situation continues to rise.
FREMONT, CA: MP Biomedicals Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a diagnostic corporation which has been operating for over 30 years specializing in the various infectious disease testing development and manufacturing, trumpets the successful development of a rapid antibody test kit for COVID-19, in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR). Named as the ASSURE® SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM rapid test, or ASSURE® in short, the test kit identifies antibodies produced by the human immune system in response to exposure to SARS-CoV-2. It offers accurate results in as little as 15 minutes and employs a lateral flow format similar to those used in home pregnancy tests. ASSURE® was designed and manufactured in Singapore. This new test kit can be deployed at or near the point of patient care and has been distributed to regions such as Europe, Africa, and South America. MP Biomedicals also intends to file for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US FDA for this product too.
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The test kit identifies IgG and IgM antibodies, which are produced by the body to combat SARS-CoV-2, from samples of human blood, plasma, or serum. Researches have shown that levels of IgG and IgM appear to be correlated with the severity of COVID-19. Thus they are good biomarkers for confirming positive or past infection.
In line with the current recommendation by the World Health Organization, point-of-care or rapid serology tests, including ASSURE rapid antibody test kit should not be used in the clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 infections or in the evaluation of persons with acute respiratory symptoms, especially within the first 14 days of illness. This is to avoid giving patients false reassurance that they are not infected. However, the ASSURE test kit can help to determine whether an individual has been previously exposed to the virus and developed antibodies as a result, which will help in identifying asymptomatic individuals or those with only mild symptoms who were not subjected to RT-PCR testing.
The technology behind the ASSURE utilizes proprietary synthetic SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The test kit was evaluated by the National University Hospital's (NUH) Department of Laboratory Medicine and demonstrated good results for both serum and whole blood. The sensitivity of the kit performed well as compared to commercial immunoassays when tested with convalescent blood from recovered COVID-19 patients in the clinic. The ASSURE rapid antibody test kit has been granted Provisional Authorization by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for its intended use in Singapore.
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