Thermo Fisher Scientific announced it is supporting a U.S. program to speed up the identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants.
The company is collaborating with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative, Helix, and Rosalind to develop a new genotyping method for SARS-CoV-2. This method could accelerate the identification of variants as they emerge.
Using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based genotyping approach that can be implemented in any testing lab performing this type of real-time assay, this program allows for a significant scale up of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance efforts in the U.S. With the addition of genotyping, labs can classify a high percentage of positive samples and provide information within two to three days.
Data generated from this program, which is funded by the U.S. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering as part of the NIH RADx Initiative, will be available to the public through the Rosalind Tracker.
