Fujifilm Launches Highly-Sensitive, Rapid CE-Marked SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Based on Silver Halide Amplification Technology

FUJIFILM Europe GmbH (Duesseldorf, Germany) has launched a new antigen test kit for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection that has received the CE certificate and utilizes its proprietary silver amplification immunochromatography method.

Since 2011, Fujifilm has marketed rapid diagnostic testing equipment and reagents for influenza and other infectious diseases, using the proprietary "silver amplification immunochromatography method" which is based on silver amplification technology used in the photo-developing process, to enhance results' sensitivity and speed. The system has been adopted by numerous medical institutions in Japan as a high-sensitivity antigen test capable of detecting viruses even when viral load is low at the onset of a disease. Fujifilm has found that even with SARS-CoV-2 antigen, a highly sensitive antigen test is feasible with the application of silver amplification immunochromatography.

The company has developed the FUJIFILM COVID-19 Ag Test, an antigen test kit that can rapidly and sensitively examine the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in specimens, detecting the virus at an early stage and in view of a relatively low viral load. Fast results are produced within 10-13 minutes. The Fujifilm rapid antigen test uses nasopharyngeal swab samples and can be performed within the community as well as clinical settings, which enables a faster result than the current laboratory tests.

"During the pandemic Fujifilm supported the global healthcare community in the complex management of the emergency," said Mr. Masaharu Fukumoto, Senior Vice President FUJIFILM Europe GmbH Medical Systems Division. "It did so through its diagnostic and IT/AI solutions so that COVID-19 patients could be treated with the utmost care and precision. Today we can provide further support for the early detection of COVID-19, through a rapid antigen test that can provide a highly sensitive result for early detection. We used our proprietary silver amplification immunochromatographic method, that amplifies signal particles more than 100 times and increases the sensitivity, and has the potential to enhance detection in more asymptomatic patients carrying the COVID-19 virus an at an early stage."