EKF Diagnostics Launches Novel Molecular Transport Media for Dual COVID-19 and Influenza Sampling

EKF Diagnostics (Cardiff, UK) has added a new novel viral transport media for the safe sample handling and testing of multiple infectious diseases from a single swab to its product range.

EKF’s PrimeStore MTM (Molecular Transport Medium) is an FDA cleared and CE IVD marked sample collection device which deactivates viruses, including COVID-19, flu A, flu B, HIV and TB. The fully patented device ensures transportation and workplace safety for disease testing programs, greatly reducing risk of infection to health workers, couriers, and lab technicians.

Traditional viral transport media (VTM) were designed for transporting live samples to be cultured and also contain ingredients that inhibit optimal molecular testing. However, modern molecular tests do not require viable virus, but just intact microbial nucleic acids. Molecular testing is now widespread due to its improved performance and turnaround times compared to traditional microbiology testing. In fact, most currently approved tests for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases are nucleic acid based molecular assays, so removing the need for and risk of live pathogen transportation for routine testing. PrimeStore MTM is proven technology with millions of tubes already sold globally during and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to hospitals and laboratories who trust that it provides safer and more reliable testing than traditional VTM or universal transport media, saline, or RUO devices.

Designed and optimized for molecular testing, PrimeStore MTM is a unique FDA class 2 cleared sample collection and transportation device that effectively kills viral and bacterial pathogens whilst preserving and stabilizing the released DNA and RNA. The molecular transport media supports many downstream molecular applications, including qPCR and next generation sequencing. The sample can be safely stored at ambient temperature for up to seven days and re-used several times. As well as reducing the risks of handling live pathogenic samples, this also cuts costs by eliminating cold chain requirement and need for Category 3 facilities, as testing can take place outside of containment. As multiple tests can be processed from one sample swab, this makes it ideal for the approaching flu season since samples stored in PrimeStore MTM can be tested for both COVID-19 and influenza from a single sample that has been inactivated and stabilized, thereby assisting with disease differentiation at reduced costs.

“PrimeStore MTM is a real game changer for the sampling and transport of pathogenic samples from a safety, reliability and cost perspective,” said Julian Baines, CEO, EKF Diagnostics. “It’s clear that we need a strong testing program ready for flu season and a potential second wave of COVID-19 as thousands of people are going to start presenting with symptoms that could be flu or coronavirus. We have a sample collection kit that was designed in 2006 specifically for pandemics; its FDA cleared and CE IVD marked, and can be used to collect both flu and COVID-19 samples in one kit. The kit immediately neutralizes infectious samples and doesn’t require refrigerated transport; so it’s safer, cheaper and easier to use than standard collection kits.”