CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
Jan. 14, 2022—DiaSorin Molecular has released an updated version of its Simplexa SARS-CoV-2 Variants Direct assay, for research use only, to enable the detection of mutations associated with the omicron variant (B.1.1.529).
The assay helps to streamline and expedite the pre-selection process of positive samples that would benefit from further sequencing. It works on nasopharyngeal and nasal swab specimens that are identified as positive for SARS-CoV-2 and allows for the in vitro qualitative detection of mutations E484A, E484K, E484Q, G496S, Q498R, L452R, N501Y, and Y505H. These mutations are present in potential variants of clinical interest including alpha (B.1.1.7), beta (B.1.351), gamma (P.1), delta (B.1.617.2), epsilon (B.1.427/B.1.429), zeta (P.2), eta (B.1.525), iota (B.1.526/B.1.526.1), kappa (B.1.617.1/ B.1.617.3), mu (B.1.621), and omicron (B1.1.529).