Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Launches Dry Collection Swabs for COVID-19 Testing

Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Inc. (SDDI), one of the largest chains of infectious disease laboratories in the Philippines, has introduced COVID sample collection using the Rhinostics dry nasal and nasopharyngeal collection swabs. The dry swabs are being introduced at its facilities in Metro Manila, Davao and Negros Occidental. In addition, SDDI will act as the exclusive distributor of Rhinostics in the Philippines.
 
Rhinostics Inc. is a Harvard University spinout company launched to bring new materials and designs for improved sample collection for COVID and broader non-COVID respiratory testing. The Rhinostics swabs received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for COVID sample collection. These swabs allow more comfortable collection, dry shipment and transport without viral transport media.
 
Paul Jochico, co-Founder and director of Safeguard DNA Diagnostics Inc., commented, “We are excited to bring the Rhinostics’ innovative sample collection swabs to the Philippines, to offer our people a more comfortable collection combined with strong assay performance. The dry swabs are more robust and offer lower risk for contamination during collection and transport than VTM and saliva collection devices. Continued COVID testing will help keep more people safe until vaccinations can become widespread in the Philippines.”
 
“The opportunity to repurpose our molecular microbiology laboratory in Manila provided significant benefits to the people of the Philippines during this unfortunate pandemic. Safeguard remains committed to bringing innovative products for the diagnosis of infectious disease into SDDI’s operations,” said George Aaron, CEO and chairman of Safeguard Biosystems Holdings Ltd., the joint venture partner in SDDI. 
 
“We could not ask for a better partner to implement our collection swab technology in the Philippines, bringing the newest technology for dry collection, transport and assay performance to the country. SDDI remains an innovator in the diagnostics space in the Philippines, bringing newest technologies to market,” said Cheri Walker, CEO of Rhinostics.
 
Rhinostics commercializes solutions to bring better materials, efficiencies and cost savings to the laboratory workflow. The RHINOstic automated nasal swab provides features that increase sample throughput by more than 10-fold while removing labor and errors from the laboratory workflow. The swab is integrated onto a cap that can be automated for removal from the tube and rapid accessioning using the 2D barcode on the bottom of the tubes. The product provides an immediate impact to increasing COVID testing efficiencies while being applicable to broader respiratory viral, bacterial, and genetic testing using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and next generation sequencing (NGS). In addition, the company offers both a standard nasal swab and nasopharyngeal swab that allow dry shipment, sample concentration and better assay performance. The Rhinostics suite of collection products are registered as Class I exempt medical devices with the FDA and are available for purchase.