Aptamer Group and Cytiva form new collaboration for the development of COVID-19 Rapid Test
28/09/2020
Collaboration to produce a rapid test for the COVID-19 coronavirus infection
Aptamer Group, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration with Cytiva, formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences. The company will use its recently developed aptamer reagent combined with Cytiva’s lateral flow technology to produce a Lateral Flow Device (LFD)*. Aptamer Group will subsequently mass manufacture a test capable of generating results within less than ten minutes.
The project, which will support scalable non-laboratory testing for virus infections such as COVID-19, highlights the growing prevalence aptamers will take in the process of screening of large numbers of people. Aptamers are synthetic molecules that are made from DNA or RNA that fold into unique three-dimensional structures that allow them to bind to targets with high affinity and high specificity.
Aptamer Group utilises in-vitro techniques to create aptamers that are engineered to bind with high selectivity to a variety of targets. These include, but are not limited to, proteins, small molecules, whole cells, and even whole organisms.
The company will retain the intellectual property to its SARS-COVID 2 aptamer and rights to the final product developed by Cytiva.
Dr Arron Tolley, Chief Executive of Aptamer Group, commented:
“This collaboration with Cytiva is a significant step forward in the application of aptamers in virus testing. It is also a strong endorsement of the innovation and technology we are applying to help address the global pandemic with an effective, reliable test that delivers quick results. “Once developed, the new test can be deployed to point of care facilities worldwide. We are also looking into the opportunity to develop a home test version, which help increase the opportunity for rapid testing.”
Lee Jenkins, Senior Product Manager at Cytiva commented:
“We are pleased to support Aptamer Group’s work to develop a COVID-19 point of care diagnostic test. Aptamers are an economical and scalable technology making them very suitable for producing a diagnostic.”
Download Covid-19 Application Note