RE: GDR28 Apr 2020 19:07
Just as a reminder for any potential new investors ( should be plenty of them!) It seems these should be ready in 4 weeks now ( this as week ago) unless we have an update RNS that states even sooner....
it has agreed a collaboration deal with Cytiva to develop the Genedrive 96 SARS-CoV-2 assay for use on lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments which could see a test for coronavirus (COVID-19) available within five weeks.
The AIM-listed molecular diagnostics specialist said the project with Cytiva - the company formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences - is one of two assay programmes it is developing as per its coronavirus test announcement late last month.
The Genedrive 96 SARS-CoV-2 assay combines Genedrive's PCR chemistry integrated with Cytiva's LyoStable stabilisation technology. The combination would allow for high throughput manufacturing of over 10,000 tests per hour in a 96-well, temperature-stable plate format that could be transported globally without the need for refrigeration.
"We have extensive experience working with the Cytiva team on assay development and manufacturing for our Point of Care HCV [hepatitis C virus], AIHL [antibiotic induced hearing loss], and military programmes,” said David Budd, the chief executive officer of Genedrive in a statement.
“We are pleased to now apply that partnership in a high throughput manufacturing process, which we believe places us amongst a small group of companies that have the capability to produce simple assay solutions at significant scale. We are working very aggressively and plan to have product available in the next five weeks,” Budd added.
Gabriel Fernandez de Pierola, the general manager of Genomics and Diagnostics at Cytiva, said the spread of the SARS-COV-2 virus is driving an urgent need for extensive testing, particularly among patients and health workers.
“Critical to overcoming the pandemic is being able to produce high volumes of reliable tests which can be shipped easily on a global basis with minimal environmental impact. We hope our Lyo-Stable technology coupled with Genedrive's high throughput testing solution will help deliver technical solutions to address the current crisis," he said.