04. Mai 2020 altona Diagnostics launches CE-IVD certified RT-PCR test

SARS-CoV-2, a member of the coronavirus family, is the causative agent of COVID-19. It is highly contagious, transmitted via aerosols and droplets, and causes acute respiratory infections with flu-like symptoms. Since the first cases of the severe respiratory disease were reported from Wuhan, China, in December 2019, COVID-19 infections have spread rapidly around the world.

The RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.0 consists of Master Reagents, Positive Control and Internal Control. Designed as a dual target assay the ready-to-use kit allows reliable detection of all lineage B-betacoronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2) and confirms the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific RNA in only one reaction.

The assay has been validated at multiple national and international reference laboratories, like for example the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), the Public Health England (PHE) and National Institute for Infectious Diseases Lazzaro Spallanzani.

The RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.0 has been validated with human respiratory swabs using the AltoStar® Purification Kit 1.5 on the AltoStar® Automation System AM16 for nucleic acid extraction and purification and can be used with a wide range of different real-time PCR instruments.

Furthermore, altona Diagnostics also received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit U.S. whose components are chemically identical with the ones included in the CE-IVD marked RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.0. The RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit U.S. is intended for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in upper respiratory samples from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider.

“altona Diagnostics was one of the first companies to provide reliable RT-PCR based SARS-CoV-2 detection kits early in the corona crisis. In response to the market requirements, we successfully achieved CE-IVD certification as well as Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. We also ramped up our production capacity quite significantly and adapted our kit configuration by increasing the number of reactions per kit to 384, to respond to the still growing demand and be able to provide all our customers with the RealStar® SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Kit 1.0”, said Dr. Markus Hess, General Manager of altona Diagnostics.