Development of AgPlus rapid electrochemical immunoassays for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 is virus that is currently spreading throughout the world. Relatively little is understood about the virus but we are learning fast and it is clear that we need to have good diagnosis to support quarantine and treatment. What is known is that the virus has a serial interval of 4 days and 1-3% of the population may be pre-symptomatic but still transmitting the virus. It takes 2-14 days to show symptoms after infection with the 97% of people developing symptoms within 11.5 days. There is a clear global challenge to halt the spread of this disease and to strengthen the ability of all healthcare systems to cope better with future epidemics.

Key to this is accurate fast diagnostic testing for the virus or immune status of patients. AgPlus' diagnostic assays for detecting specific immune responses to the COVID-19 virus will allow for a) confirmatory testing (rule in rule out) of those with symptoms, understanding that in some instances the symptoms may be due to bacterial infection b) monitoring treatment efficacy in those that have tested positive to ensure they are responding and when safe to release from isolation c) potential to be a companion diagnostic to support drug/ vaccine development and d) to determine if you have had a COVID-19 infection.