Cytiva collaborates with Genedrive™ to develop a coronavirus PCR assay kit
In 2020, Cytiva joined forces with molecular diagnostics company Genedrive™, to develop a novel SARS-CoV-2 test to detect COVID-19 infection.
Teams from the respective companies cooperated to combine Cytiva’s Lyo-Stable™ technology, with Genedrive™ PCR assay chemistry to deliver a reproducible solution that would address the unexpected and high global demand for COVID-19 testing during the pandemic and into the future.
The result was the Genedrive™ 96 SARS-CoV-2 assay — a novel diagnostic test that can be used in a simple, one-step process. This innovative, ready-to-go freeze-dried assay, helps to eliminate refrigeration costs, avoid contamination risks, and reduce overall shipping costs.
Genedrive™ CEO David Budd commented about the success of the collaboration: “We have extensive experience working with the Cytiva team on assay development and manufacturing for our point-of-care HCV, AIHL, and military programs. We are pleased to apply that collaboration 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 a significant scale”.
The assay kit consists of a single polymerase chain reaction (PCR) bead, which when mixed with a patient’s sample, detects the presence of the coronavirus. The test can be performed on all preexisting open PCR instrument platforms.
Gabriel Fernandez de Pierola, General Manager of Genomics and Diagnostics at Cytiva said of the collaboration: “Critical to overcoming the pandemic has been to produce high volumes of reliable tests, which can be shipped easily on a global basis with minimal environmental impact. Our Lyo-Stable™ technology coupled with the Genedrive™ high-throughput testing solution helped to deliver technical solutions to address the COVID-19 crisis.”
Learn more about Cytiva’s Lyo-Stable stabilization technology