Eurobio Scientific Launches Rapid Dx Test for SARS CoV-2 Virus Antigen

Eurobio Scientific launched its first rapid diagnostic test for the detection of the SARS CoV-2 virus antigen. This test, Sofia SARS Antigen developed by its American partner Quidel, is complementary to PCR tests which remain the performance gold standard in terms of detection of the virus responsible for COVID-19. It is already CE marked and immediately available for sale.
 
As part of the current campaign to detect the presence of the SARS CoV-2 virus in patients, the number of tests performed in France has become of such magnitude (more than 1 million tests per week) that the delays in submitting results have lengthened considerably.
 
Even if their virus detection performance is lower than that of PCR tests, rapid antigenic tests make it possible to carry out a rapid initial screening of asymptomatic patients. Such a process would unclog testing laboratories while maintaining the scale of the viral activity monitoring campaign.
 
With a catalog of products among the most complete on the market, with PCR tests, including its proprietary tests EBX 041 and FluCoSyn, as well as several serological tests, Eurobio Scientific is now completing its offer for the detection of SARS CoV-2, aware of the public health and economic stake that the current wave of the COVID-19 epidemic can represent.
 
Immunofluorescence-Based Unit Test
For many years, Eurobio Scientific has been ensuring the exclusive distribution in France of the Sofia range from Quidel. This new unit test which allows the detection of the SARS-Cov-2 antigen completes this range which already includes, among others, the antigenic detection tests for Influenza A and B. It requires a nasal swab sample, and a Sofia reader, which uses FIA (Fluorescence ImmunoAssay) technology to deliver a result in 15 minutes.
 
These instruments are already widely available to Eurobio Scientific customers, with more than 350 readers mainly used for rapid diagnosis in hospitals across France.
 
For Jean-Michel Carle, Chairman and CEO of Eurobio Scientific, “It was particularly important for our group to complete its range of screening tests in order to meet the demands of our customers. The overcrowding of analytical laboratories required an evolution in the testing technologies that we immediately make available to them. Our offer now includes a first test already CE marked and intended for our customers equipped with the Sofia reader, mainly hospital departments requiring rapid unit tests.”