LumiraDX High Sensitivity Point-of-Care Antigen Test Effectively Detects Variants of Concern
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- LumiraDX, a next-generation point-of-care diagnostic testing company, says that its LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 Antigen test can detect major COVID-19 variants including the Alpha, Delta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon variants, some of which have been categorized as Variants of Concern by the World Health Organization. The company said further, in a technical bulletin recently released, that it is taking steps to ensure its test can actively detect other Variants of Concern and new variants of the coronavirus.
- The SARS-CoV-2 virus, like other viruses, is constantly mutating and evading diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. LumiraDX Chief Innovation Officer, Nigel Lindner, PhD, said the company is constantly monitoring how this virus spreads and mutates to modify its product's testing capacities for high sensitivity against the new variants. To validate the test's high efficacy, the company's in-house evaluation is reviewed and confirmed by independent agencies, including the UK Department of Health and Social Care - COVID-19 Technologies Validation Group and the National Health Laboratory Service
- Unlike PCR, the LumiraDX SARS-CoV Ag test uses antibodies to capture the virus' nucleocapsid antigen, not the spike protein. Since the test can recognize as much as 25-45 nucleotide sequences this way, single point mutations,which are found in many variants, are unlikely to affect the efficacy of the test. Mutations outside this coding region, such as in the spike protein, are also unlikely to affect the test's performance, adding to the superior advantage of the LumiraDX antigen test
- About LumiraDx
LumiraDx was founded in 2014 by a group of entrepreneurs: Ron Zwanziger, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Dave Scott, Ph.D., our Chief Technology Officer; and Jerry McAleer, Ph.D., our Chief Scientist, who have a successful track record in building and scaling diagnostics businesses over three decades, including at companies such as Medisense, Inc., Inverness Medical Technology Inc. and Alere Inc. The Company is supported by institutional and strategic investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Morningside Ventures, U.S. Boston Capital Corporation, and Petrichor Healthcare Capital Management. Based in the UK and supported by its worldwide affiliates to provide access in all major markets, LumiraDx has more than 1,200 employees worldwide
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