RE: My response to the Telegraph Article23 Jun 2021 14:27
3.
Mologic was given nearly £1m by the Government last year to create a high-standard rapid lateral flow test but felt it had suddenly been “stonewalled” by PHE.
“PHE failed Mologic’s test, which other regulatory bodies have passed, while Innova’s [test] has passed. There is a disconnect there and there has to be accountability and transparency,” said Mr Evans.
“Lots of people in the industry are aware of there being an issue but there are very few people prepared to speak up as they feel they have something to lose taking on the Government.”
Boris Johnson visits the Mologic lab in Bedford in March 2020 CREDIT: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
Tony Cooke, chief executive of Cambridge Clinical Laboratories, a specialist testing lab, said the whole process of evaluation and data-sharing was opaque: “It is inconsistent, not transparent, illogical and biased.”
Berwyn Clarke, another industry veteran and chairman of Iceni Diagnostics in Norwich, said his company had experienced similar problems with Porton Down.
“There were problems around the process; they really didn't know how to validate the test, they wanted to shortcut all the conventional routes," he said.
Iceni had spoken to PHE “quite productively for a long time” while it was developing its test, Mr Clarke said.
“We had months of discussion with DHSC about our dual flu and Covid test and they all thought it was a good idea. We went through our manufacturing run, sent them to Porton Down, they arrived in the morning and by 4pm they said they were not testing them. Why? Because they were a dual flu and Covid test and that was not in their brief,” he said.
Iceni pushed back and got MPs involved without success, Mr Clarke said. “There are all sorts of defects in the protocol they use at Porton Down. Whoever set the protocols in the place didn’t understand what they were doing. Someone should resign.”
He said other experienced test-makers had also, inexplicably, had their tests failed through the system. “I can’t remember the exact numbers but there was a really astronomical figure like 80pc of all the tests that went through Porton Down failed,” he claimed.
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