Molecular diagnostics solutions company, BioGX has announced the FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) submission of an extraction-free, direct sample addition RT-PCR test for detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in patients suspected of COVID-19. If accepted this simple, high throughput RT-PCR Test has the potential to increase testing capacity by millions per week
Background
BioGX is a leading global provider of lyophilized real-time PCR reagents for molecular diagnostics. The company’s The Xfree® COVID-19 Direct RT-PCR test (“Xfree COVID-19”) is a complete test in a single vial, lyophilized in BioGX’s Sample-Ready™ format. The user would simply Just Add Water™, the patient sample, and run the test on a validated real-time PCR instrument.
A single 96-well plate instrument can generate up to 1,500 test results every 24 hours, while a 384-well plate instrument can generate up to 6,000 test results.
The Xfree® COVID-19 test is validated for use on QuantStudio™ 5 and CFX Touch™ real-time PCR instruments with the most common specimen types – nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal (throat) swabs with collections in UTM, UVT, VTM and saline. In addition to extraction-free direct testing, Xfree® COVID-19 is validated to test samples extracted with magnetic beads or silica column extraction methods.
Company comments
“Xfree is a breakthrough in COVID-19 RT-PCR testing. Direct addition of patient samples without any pre-processing or extraction not only overcomes critical reagent supply issues, but also significantly shortens the result’s turnaround time. The fast and simple workflow is designed to help laboratories increase their testing capacity without adding expert personnel or new automation”, said Shazi Iqbal, PhD., CEO of BioGX.
“We believe Xfree is a game-changer. Xfree converts the most ubiquitous real-time PCR instruments into high throughput Sample-to-Answer machines – potentially augmenting the COVID-19 PCR testing capacity by millions”, said Michael Vickery, PhD., EVP & CSO of BioGX.
“Our current production capacity for the Xfree COVID-19 is nearly 2 million tests per week and can readily scale to 4 million per week. With efficient and early planning, we were able to secure long-term supply of critical raw materials to avoid any potential supply disruptions”, said Shahin Iqbal, PhD., SVP of Global Operations.
Source: LifeScience Newswire
published: October 14, 2020 in: COVID-19, News, Regulatory