【COVID-19】The Breakthroughs in COVID-19 Screening Reagents from the Taiwan Academia Sinica
Source：Service Industry Promotion Center
From：Service Industry Promotion Section 1
Update Time：2020/04/01
Dated on 23rd March, 2020, the news journal "Nature Biotechnology" published a list of the current progress and opportunities of rapid screening test development, including from the Taiwan Academia Sinica, Sona Nanotech and GE (Canada), Pharmact (Berlin), as well as Mammoth Biosciences, the gene editing pioneer, founded by Jennifer Doudna, and Sherlock Biosciences. Through the use of rapid virus screening reagents, it is believed that efficient, point of care testing (POCT) can speed up clinical decision-making and reduce the burden on the central laboratories.
Taiwan Academia Sinica
The first ever monoclonal antibody specifically binding nucleocapsid protein (N protein) of the coronavirus has been successfully generated and tested, in research done by Dr. An-Suei Yang and his team at the Genome Research Center in the AS. If successfully developed and manufactured, the rapid immune-based test kit could prove very useful in detecting coronavirus within 20 minutes, similar to a rapid influenza test.
Coming Soon: Rapid Coronavirus Detection Test Kit Development and Manufacturing
Dr. Yang pointed out that with the help of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan, the team is discussing with manufacturers regarding product prototype development and manufacturing, and will discuss with the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration for product qualification and certification. Finally, they will work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to quickly bring rapid coronavirus detection kits to Taiwan to fight against the devastating pandemic.
If launched successfully, people can test for coronavirus infection rapidly, often within 15 to 20 minutes, very much like the rapid influenza diagnostic test, and quickly obtain results, thus raising chance of fighting against the coronavirus pandemic.
written by : Chloe Lin