RNS milestone1 May 2020 09:25
Genedrive® 96 SARS-CoV-2 kit passes critical technical development milestones in Cytiva manufacturing process
genedrive plc (AIM: GDR), the near patient molecular diagnostics company, announces it has completed the last significant manufacturing milestone in the co-development of the Genedrive® 96 SARS-CoV-2 kit with Cytiva. The PCR-based test has completed its pilot manufacturing runs and yielded high performing multiplexed assays for COVID-19 testing. The overall project plan currently remains on track and the company is targeting CE marking in approximately 3 weeks' time.
The Genedrive® 96 SARS-CoV-2 test is one of two assay programmes the Company is developing following an announcement made on 25 March 2020, with a genedrive point-of-care assay due later in the calendar year.
The Genedrive® 96 SARS-CoV-2 assay combines genedrive's PCR chemistry integrated with Cytiva's LyoStable® stabilisation technology. The combination delivers several key competitive advantages to the genedrive test compared to the liquid, kit-based assays already on market. The Genedrive® 96 SARS-CoV2-test is a final format test which only requires the addition of patient sample, with no other user preparation required. Integrated controls within each test give confidence to the user that the input sample is of good quality, and the integrity of each reaction mix is confirmed with another internal standard. The temperature-stable nature of lyophilisation technology means that the test can be transported globally without the need for refrigeration, which will support global product distribution.