CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
March 2021—Seegene announced it has developed the first COVID-19 diagnostic variant test capable of screening COVID-19 and identifying multiple mutant variations in a single reaction.
The Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants I assay can identify major genetic variations that seem to have originated from the U.K. and South Africa as well as other regions including Japan and Brazil, and can prescreen a potential new variant. The assay uses the company’s multiplex real-time PCR method of mTOCE, which allows the test to detect a target-specific spot where mutation occurs, enabling detection and differentiation of the coronavirus as well as its mutated versions with a single tube of reagent. Seegene’s technology also includes an endogenous internal control that can verify the testing process, including proper sample collection.