Coronavirus
Handling the outbreak of Covid-19 around the world.
The Problem
A highly infectious and prevalent disease.
SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA respiratory virus that causes fever and other symptoms that are similar to Influenza A infection. It has caused the outbreak of severe, sometimes deadly pneumonia worldwide.
The Need
Safe specimen handling and highly sensitive screening.
As strains of coronavirus have continued to spread and evolve, safe specimen handling and highly sensitive screening of both symptomatic and asymptomatic high-risk individuals is critical.
CDC interim guidance requires samples suspected of containing SARS-CoV-2 to be handled under proper containment. Inactivated samples do not require containment.
Early Rt-PCR testing challenges in China were likely due to degraded RNA in samples. Accurate diagnostic requires that the RNA in the sample is intact.
Our Approach
We developed PrimeStore® MTM to inactivate coronavirus specimens.
PrimeStore MTM is FDA-cleared for multiple sample types used for the detection of coronaviruses. Multiple clinical studies using PrimeStore MTM have been conducted in the most challenging conditions in the world, with excellent results for coronavirus in both coronavirus specific assays and respiratory multiplex assays.
PrimeStore MTM has been demonstrated to fully inactivate viruses within seconds and stabilize the RNA/DNA for molecular testing and characterization. Inactivating the virus allows for testing to take place outside of containment facilities, opening up more testing laboratories.
Collaborators
We are working closely with local and global governments, organizations and laboratories to ensure adequate, high-quality sample collection capability around the world.
