S’pore Company Making Test Kit To Detect Wuhan, SARS & MERS Coronavirus, May Be Out By Mar 2020

World’s First Wuhan Virus Test Kit Will Detect Various Strains Of Coronavirus In 2 Hours

As a palpable anxiety falls over the world with the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus, Singaporean biotech company Veredus Laboratories is working hard to help manage the situation.

If their press release on Friday (24 Jan) is anything to go by, their efforts appear rather promising.

Veredus announced that they’re working on the world’s first coronavirus test kit, which may greatly reduce detection time.

Test kit can detect Wuhan & other coronavirus

On their website, Veredus describes itself as “a global biotechnology company that markets, develops and customizes innovative solutions for detection of pathogens.”

In simpler terms, they aim to target disease-causing viruses, and their hard work may be paying off.

Their latest innovation, the VereCoV detection kit, could be the saviour the world needs.

Source

The kit can apparently identify and differentiate between these strains of coronavirus:

• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
• Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
• 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), or Wuhan Coronavirus

That’s basically all the pandemic viruses we’ve faced in recent history, so the kit will be an impressive accomplishment if it succeeds.

Pressing need to release the kit soon

Veredus CEO Dr Rosemary Tan is aware of the pressing need to release the kit soon,

Time-to-market is crucial as it addresses the need for a fast and easy-to-use detection method.

The ability to detect the viruses in a single test in 2 hours will make the kit a great asset to medical staff, who can focus more on treatment.

That said, Veredus is confident of getting the kit out in time, citing their previous success in updating their detection kits within a few weeks of the first MERS and H1N1 outbreaks.

Source

They plan to make the Wuhan Coronavirus test kit commercially available by the first quarter of this year, which is end Mar 2020.

A report by The Business Times, however, places the release date on 1 Feb, which is only a few days away.

Whichever the date may be, we hope that the kit will serve everyone well when it does come out.

Meanwhile, let’s be responsible citizens and keep ourselves safe from infection.

Observe good personal hygiene, wear a mask if you have to, and seek medical attention as soon as you feel unwell.

Featured image adapted from Veredus Laboratories and Facebook.