Avacta signs new deal for Covid-19 testing

Wetherby-based Avacta, in partnership with therapeutic giant Cytiva, is developing a rapid test strip for patient saliva that aims to provide a result in a few minutes, indicating whether the patient is currently infected with the coronavirus.

Avacta said the test has the potential to be used for frequent mass testing of the population to promptly identify infectious individuals so that they can be isolated and treated, thereby reducing the spread of infection.

Abingdon Health provides rapid testing solutions to a global client base and has Europe’s largest lateral flow test contract manufacturing capacity. The firm's two sites in York and Doncaster are able to produce millions of rapid tests per month.

Dr Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta, said: “Authorities around the world are now looking to carry out frequent mass testing to identify the most infectious people promptly in order to reduce infection rates and combat the coronavirus pandemic.

“That requires a highly specific test to minimize false positives which would otherwise overwhelm healthcare systems. The Affimer reagents that we have generated are very specific to SARS-CoV-2 antigen and we are confident of meeting and exceeding the clinical performance requirements for identifying the most infectious people.”

Chris Yates, chief executive of Abingdon Health, added: “Abingdon Health is working at the forefront of Covid-19 rapid testing and we are delighted to expand our reach further to support deployment of mass testing to help in the fight to combat the Covid-19 global pandemic.

“We have invested in our manufacturing capacity over the past few months and stand ready to support deployment of high volume, quality, rapid lateral flow tests.”