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Roche plans to conduct a rapid crown test this month. It remains to be seen how exactly this is.
What is Roche up to? Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche wants to launch a rapid corona test on the market this month, which should clarify whether or not a person is positive for Covid-19 after 15 minutes.
How does the test work? “It’s not much different from the tests you already know,” says Daniel Theis of SRF’s science department. They still need a nose or throat swab. This must be done by qualified healthcare personnel. “Usually it will be a doctor’s office,” says Theis.
What’s new in the method? The deciding factor for the SRF editor is: “The result is there after a quarter of an hour.” A color is displayed on a strip, or not. If the strip changes color, the test is positive. “As you already know from a pregnancy test.”
With this quick test, we only know what the manufacturer promises us.
The principle is also the same as for the pregnancy test. “It is based on so-called immune tests; in the case of Corona, the test reacts to the components of the virus, to the proteins, and then it shows this as a color.”
How reliable is the result? Theis says that rapid tests are less accurate than PCR tests, which are now the standard everywhere. “The sensitivity is lower.” PCR tests test the genetic makeup and are therefore very reliable. “With this quick test, we only know what the manufacturer promises us.” And these are dream values that hardly anyone in the world achieves. “But you don’t know what the exact conditions of the test were.”
No test is 100 percent accurate, that doesn’t exist.
The lower reliability compared to current PCR tests is offset by the fact that you can perform more tests with the rapid tests. “But of course there is a risk of false positive and false negative results. You shouldn’t neglect that. No test is 100% accurate, that doesn’t exist. “
Is it controlled even more closely? “That will be done,” confirms the editor of SRF. “The reference laboratory in Geneva and other laboratories in Switzerland will put the rapid test to the test.” You can do it with old Covid-19 samples. “And if the test is reliable enough, the FOPH will recommend it for use in the next step.”
Does Roche take a chance with the rapid test? “If the rapid corona test failed the review completely, it would certainly be a major damage to Roche’s image,” believes Theis. “So I suppose they won’t lightly advertise an inappropriate product. But how it works in everyday life remains to be seen. “
Daniel Theis
SRF Science Editor
