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CYBERJAYA: Malaysia’s homegrown Covid-19 test kit, ImmuSAFE, which can detect and quantify an individual’s level of antibody protection from disease, was launched here today.
ImmuSAFE is the first Covid-19 serology test (blood serum test), jointly developed by the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) and Sengenics Sdn Bhd. – Performance screening of Covid-19 samples for diagnosis of current or previous infection.
MARii Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Madani Sahari at the launch here today said that the test kit had 100% sensitivity and specificity validated by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), an agency under the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Based on tests conducted on 5,000 samples during ImmuSAFE development, test results could be obtained in a few hours, he said.
“The ImmuSAFE test will not replace reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests, but I would say it is a complementary test that can give a complete picture of whether a person has been infected.
“If the ImmuSAFE test and RT-PCR are combined, it would be the perfect solution to understand the status whether or not you are infected with Covid-19,” he told reporters after the launch.
Madani said they were still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Health’s Medical Device Authority (MDA) before it could be made available on the market.
It also revealed that an app called ImmuSAFE Tracker is being developed that has smart contact tracing capabilities based on MARii’s readily available AI and big data analytics platforms.
“This app will be able to track people’s mobility and contact tracing information, as well as employee records, supply chain information, compliance with companies’ standard operating procedures (SOPs), everything previous in real time, ”he said.
The app can also be integrated with more advanced tracking technology, such as facial recognition and geographic information system (GIS) mapping, he said.
“Big data analytics technology would allow predictive modeling and simulations of outbreak patterns of new clusters of infections,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sengenics Sdn Bhd CEO Dr. Arif Anwar revealed that it took about five months to develop the ImmuSAFE test kits.
“We are proud to be part of this partnership with MARii and IMR and we appreciate the support and technical expertise of both parties during the development and validation of the ImmuSAFE Covid-19 test kit,” he said.
Sengenics is a functional proteomics company that leverages its proprietary KREX technology to discover autoantibody biomarker signatures for prediction of drug response and serious immunity-related adverse events. -Called
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