Avacta’s lateral flow test can detect Delta variant
pharmafile | June 29, 2021 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Avacta, COVID-19, Delta variant, antigen lateral flow test
A study has shown that Avacta’s AffiDX antigen lateral flow test can detect the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The test also outperformed two lateral flow antigen tests that are commercially available in Europe.
COVID-19 mutates over time to create different variants and those that have a biological advantage will become a dominant strain.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, has recently emerged with greater infectivity, and may rapidly become a dominant strain world-wide.
Avacta’s test has been evaluated with a small number of patient samples confirmed to be Delta variant positive and, for a Ct<29, the test was shown to correctly identify all the positive cases.
Dr Alastair Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Avacta Group, said: “We are delighted to report that the AffiDX® SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test detects the Delta variant with very high sensitivity for patients with a Ct value of less than 29.
“This is a variant of the virus that is spreading rapidly on a global scale and therefore the ability of the test to detect this variant is paramount to our commercial roll-out.
“In comparison with other lateral flow tests on the market, Avacta’s rapid antigen test demonstrates better clinical performance. This is a further huge validation of the Affimer® reagent platform for use in in-vitro diagnostics.
“This excellent performance and ease of nasal sampling, coupled with the fact that the AffiDX® test has been developed in the UK, is based on UK technology and is manufactured in the UK, are huge selling points for customers in Europe.”
Lateral flow antigen tests are intended to provide a cheap and quick way of cost-effective way of identifying individuals with a high viral load that means they are more likely to infect others.
The clinical data for Avacta’s AffiDX SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow test demonstrated 100% sensitivity for identifying infectious individuals with viral loads measured by PCR of Ct<27, which is considered infectious.
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