Novacyt releases two new polymerase chain reaction assays

Novacyt has released two new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, expanding its SNPsig SARS-CoV-2 variant detection and genesig COVID-19 portfolios.

Novacyt’s genesig portfolio is a variety of PCR kits for pathogen detection. In appreciation of rapidly changing testing needs directed by SARS-CoV-2 mutations, the three-gene assay for COVID-19 has been produced. The company intends to capture a broader portion of the increasing global travel market for COVID-19 testing with the three-gene test.

Initially focused on sensing the most notable mutations, variants and VoC of SARS-CoV-2, the SNPsig portfolio includes thirteen assays. The company believes it will be critical in assisting public healthcare centres and clinicians identify SARS-CoV-2 mutations which can impact immunity, infection severity and transmissibility.

CEO, Novacyt, Graham Mullis, stated: “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. 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.”