Advaite, an innovative biotech company focused on developing novel diagnostics, announced today that it will begin supplying the global market with its COVID-19 rapid response diagnostic testing kits, ADVAITE RAPCOV, to help efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus infection. This diagnostic test kit was developed in collaboration with Dr. Jun Xing, Windsor, Canada using a proprietary technology (US IP pending). In light of the emergence of this pathogen (COVID-19 virus) and its impact on public health, there is an urgent and unmet need to identify patients who may be carrying the virus. The COVID-19 rapid response test utilizes immunochromatography technique which highlights the presence of anti-COVID-19 IgM and IgG antibodies in their specific bands and verifies the validity of the test with a third control band. Based on the presence or absence of IgM and IgG antibody bands, the COVID-19 rapid response test provides presumptive differentiation between recent and past infections.
In light of the World Health Organization’s declaration that coronavirus infection has risen to the level of a pandemic, Advaite intends to distribute COVID-19 diagnostic kits worldwide. To this end, it has filed an application with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to produce its diagnostic kits under the agency’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Pending FDA EUA, the kits could be available soon in the U.S. for the detection of the COVID-19 virus. Given the diagnostic’s ability to provide results in 15-30 minutes from a drop of fingertip blood, as well as the fact that its use is not limited to the traditional laboratory setting, the Advaite test offers the promise of providing healthcare workers an ideal solution for mass screening of large populations such as academic and healthcare institutions, public and private businesses, global tourism hubs, airports and other ports of entry,
“Tests that can rapidly and accurately identify patients infected with the COVID-19 virus are critical to the efforts to contain the disease,” said Karthik Musunuri, Chief Executive Officer of Advaite. “More widespread testing for the virus will enable healthcare workers to isolate and treat patients much faster.” “In testing at a provincial blood bank in China, the Advaite diagnostic test demonstrated accuracy of over 94% in blood samples obtained from COVID-19 infected patients” said Sandeep Jain MD, Professor at University of Illinois at Chicago and Chief Scientific Officer of Advaite. “The addition of Advaite’s highly accurate, sensitive and specific test to the COVID-19 diagnostic testing menu is a great step forward to help clinicians to rapidly evaluate patients suspected of having COVID-19 virus infection” said Bellur S. Prabhakar PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Associate Dean for Technological Innovation and Training, Senior Associate Dean for Research and the past Director of the Center for Global Health at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago.
About ADVAITE
ADVAITE Inc. is a biotech company focused on developing novel diagnostics and therapeutics to help patients suffering from a variety of debilitating diseases. The word ‘Advaite’ means ‘one without a second’, unrivaled or unique. At ADVAITE, we aspire to be just that. ADVAITE operates from two locations, Chester Springs, PA and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Incubator facility in Chicago, IL.
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