Malaysian Covid 19 Test Kits Approved For Eu Sale

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CORONAVIRUS | Two Covid-19 test kits developed by a Malaysian company has been approved for sale in the European Union, the company said in a statement today
The company, Medical Innovation Ventures Sdn Bhd (Mediven), said its "GenoAmp Real-Time RT PCR SARS-CoV-2" test kits use the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique to detect the presence of the virus that causes Covid-19
It identifies the SARS-CoV-2 virus through three genetic markers in the virus’ genome that are less prone to mutation
“The kit is specifically designed to target the conserved regions of these genes
“By targeting three different genes, it increases the sensitivity of the test in detecting SARS-CoV-2, because should the virus mutate, the chances of all three targets mutating is low,” said scientist Nicole Tang, who developed the test
The company had previously announced the successful development of the kits on March 18, using government funding channelled through the Malaysia Technology Development Corporation
The company is currently offering two types of test kits that can detect the virus that causes Covid-19
One type can detect the virus alone, while the other type can be used to screen other influenza and influenza-like illnesses as well
The kits’ reagents come in a premixed form, which Mediven operations director Lim Li Sze claimed is ready-to-use and cuts processing time from six hours to three hours
The company claimed that the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) had tested the kits and found its performance to be in line with standards set by the World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control
IMR had previously developed its test kit on Jan 11, on the same day scientists in China published the necessary information on the virus’ genetic sequence
Neither the IMR nor Mediven has publicly released data on its tests’ performance. - Mkini

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