Avacta to develop a quick test for screening of virus

The Wetherby-based firm will collaborate with Cytiva to create a test that can diagnose the infection within minutes using a respiratory sample such as saliva. The group said this is a huge leap in efficiency compared with current lab tests which can take several days to process.

The tests will be distributed in the UK and globally and should be available by the end of May.

Avacta said it is too early to say how many tests will be produced, but it wants to meet what is expected to be a high demand.

The test will be similar to a pregnancy test and can be performed by a healthcare professional or a consumer. The user will apply an appropriate sample (e.g. saliva) onto a cartridge containing a strip with the test reagents embedded.

The result will be read visually by interpreting lines on the strip, showing two lines for a positive result and one line for a negative result. The test will take five to 10 minutes to deliver the result into the hands of the user.

Avacta said the test will initially be approved for use by healthcare professionals and then for consumers. The regulatory approvals take longer for the test to be made available to consumers.

Dr Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta Group, said: “We are in the process of seeking Government support for this diagnostic development, as well as other global commercial and governmental partnerships, now that the collaboration with Cytiva is in the public domain.

“The challenge in developing a test for the virus so that you can diagnose whether someone has the infection right now - and not a test for the antibodies that your body raises against the infection which only tells you whether you had the infection in the past - is that you need a reagent to capture and detect the virus itself.

“Every new virus needs a new reagent and it takes time to generate conventional reagents. The benefit of Avacta’s Affimer technology is that we can generate the Affimer reagents more quickly, which speeds up the process of developing the diagnostic.”

Affimers are Avacta’s high-tech alternative to antibodies.

Avacta and Cytiva will work together to complete the analytical and clinical validation of the test as quickly as possible.

Dr Smith said: “Importantly the test will indicate if a person has the virus now, whether they are showing symptoms or not, and will do so in minutes, in-situ with no need for laboratory equipment.

“Unfortunately, many millions of people around the world will ultimately become infected and it is likely to be an annual occurrence. There is a clear and urgent need for a test that can be carried out quickly in the community to limit the spread of the virus and track its progress.”

He said Avacta has demonstrated before in the case of the Zika virus that the Affimer platform can very quickly provide highly specific reagents in response to an outbreak of an infectious disease.

“Our partnership with Cytiva means that we now have a global technology partner for a Covid-19 diagnostic, which is essential if a practical and commercial solution is to be provided to governments and healthcare providers around the world promptly,” he added.

He said that hundreds of millions of tests will be needed for population screening.

Avacta is also talking to other partners about developing the test.

Dr Smith said: “We are aiming to have developed Affimer reagents for a Covid-19 test by the end of May that can be transferred to Cytiva and potentially to other global diagnostic manufacturers to implement in a test strip”.

Avacta said efficient testing is essential to stop the spread of the virus, as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WHO recently highlighted the need for the development of rapid tests to quickly diagnose Covid-19 at point-of-care to assist in limiting and tracking infections.

Existing tests are not suitable for screening large numbers of people for the infection as they are laboratory based and it can take up to several days to get the results.

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