Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said Thursday that one of its antibody tests for coronavirus has successfully completed an independent evaluation by Public Health England that is reliable and precise.
“Roche Diagnostics is in dialogue with the NHS [National Health Service] and the UK Government about a phased rollout of the test as soon as possible,” Karsten Kleine, a media relations officer from the Roche Group, said.
“HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ANTIBODY TESTS PER WEEK”
He said that the test “was independently evaluated” by Public Health England at its reference laboratory at Porton Down. “The detection of these antibodies could help to indicate if a person has gained immunity against the virus,” said Kleine.
Kleine said Roche had also received Emergency Use Authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration on May 2. “We will be able to provide hundreds of thousands of antibody tests to the UK per week,” said Kleine.
The test requires a blood sample to be taken by a qualified health care professional and processed in a laboratory.
