Novacyt launches two new PCR assays By Investing.com

By Samuel Indyk

Investing.com – Anglo-French diagnostics company Novacyt has launched two new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to expand its genesig COVID-19 and SNPsig SARS-CoV-2 variant detection portfolios.

The AIM-listed company said its new genesig COVID-19 3G test will enable the fulfilment of certain international travel testing requirements, including Fit to Fly Certificate, Test to Release and US FDA regulations.

The second test, its SNPsig EscapePLEX SARS-CoV-2 test, is a single kit which is able to detect the four most critical mutations currently recognised. It is currently a research-use-only kit that detects the biologically significant ‘escape’ mutations E484K, K417N, K417T and P681R, present in the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta Variants of Concern.

“The success of our COVID-19 PCR assays has been built around robust design principles and our real-time bioinformatics surveillance programme to monitor new SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences,” said Novacyt (LON:NCYT) Chief Executive Graham Mullis.

“As a result, our genesig® COVID-19 portfolio is highly accurate despite mutations, and we believe our SNPsig® portfolio is the world’s largest for detecting SARS-CoV-2 variants.

“The addition of both of these new assays ensures that Novacyt’s COVID-19 solutions remain robust and that pragmatic options are available to support both public health and private sector testing alike.”

At 10:09BST, shares in Novacyt were trading higher by 1.2% at 349.35 pence per share.