Randox and Bosch Healthcare Alliance Targets COVID-19 Testing

A partnership between Randox Laboratories (Crumlin, UK) and Bosch Healthcare (Waiblingen, Germany) aims to alter the testing landscape in both laboratory and non-laboratory settings toward the rapid detection of COVID-19.

The collaborative approach of Randox and Bosch Healthcare focuses on safety precautions as well as solutions to both analyzing and differentiating COVID-19 from other viral respiratory diseases. Their combined efforts have resulted in the launch of the Vivalytic, an all-in-one solution for molecular diagnostics, consolidating nucleic acid extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and detection on a single platform.

The Viral Respiratory Infection array (VRI) rapidly detects the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 while simultaneously differentiating between nine other respiratory diseases, in less than two and a half hours. Randox, Bosch Healthcare and R-Biopharm also offer various analysis strategies to detect SARS-CoV-2. Capable of providing reliable results in just 39 minutes, with a sensitivity of 98% and specificity of 100%, the Vivalytic SARS-CoV-2 rapid test is currently among the fastest PCR tests worldwide.

Randox and Bosch Healthcare offer a range of testing strategies, including the upcoming SARS-CoV-2 Pooling test. The SARS-CoV-2 Pooling test is a rapid solution for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, offering an accelerated decentralized testing approach for effectively and efficiently monitoring and detecting viral infection from the onset. The solution is capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2 from up to five pooled samples simultaneously with a capacity for processing more than 160 patient samples a day. Sample pooling allows more people to be tested quickly using fewer testing resources. The pooling can be done at the level of a ward, medical specialty, social bubble, or a group of colleagues. It also has potential for use in other settings, such as pre-operative screening, schools & universities, prisons, nursing homes, primary care, and large workplaces.