[ad_1]
BEIJING: A Chinese company is entering the global race to help defeat COVID-19, promising that its test machine will return results faster than a laboratory and more reliably than home detection kits.
The Flash 20 “is currently the world’s fastest machine for PCR testing for the new coronavirus,” says Sabrina Li, founder of the Coyote company.
READ: 90% of China’s Sinovac employees, families took the coronavirus vaccine: CEO
PCR testing is the industry standard and a major weapon against a pandemic that has now killed more than a million people and eviscerated the global economy.
As governments strive to develop adequate response systems, Li is targeting global sales.
Already used in hospitals and airports in China, the contraption can process four samples at once and deliver results in just half an hour.
It has been certified by the European Union and Australia, and Coyote seeks similar status from the United States and the World Health Organization.
The tests have been hailed as one of the best weapons to contain the pandemic and other researchers are also searching for the fastest method.
On Monday (September 28), US President Donald Trump announced the distribution of 150 million rapid coronavirus tests that can give a result in 15-30 minutes.
Unlike PCR tests, these rapid diagnostic kits offer a quick response, but are less sensitive and more likely to give false negatives.
The makers of Flash 20 say their printer-sized machine is not only fast but extremely reliable.
Past experience with major disease outbreaks helped Coyote respond quickly this time, the company said.
READ: Emergency authorization of COVID-19 vaccines needs a lot of care: WHO
The SARS epidemic of 2003-2004 shook China’s biotech sector and caused a major “shakeup” in the way the industry works, Zang Yuepeng, Coyote technical manager responsible for Flash 20, told AFP.
So when COVID-19 emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, Coyote was able to design the machine and “get this product to market very quickly.”
Between February and July, authorities carried out 500,000 tests in China using Flash 20, and the results were 97 percent the same as those obtained by conventional PCR tests in a laboratory.
Currently, the company can only produce 500 a month, but hopes to double that amount by the end of the year.
The main challenge, Coyote said, will be making enough machines to meet what he expects to be high demand.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
