NEW YORK ─ Bagneux, France-based biotech firm Genomic Vision announced on Tuesday that it has inked a contract to distribute two rapid diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2, called Toda Coronadiag+ and Coronadiag Ag, manufactured by Toda Pharma.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Coronadiag Ag test enables the detection of coronavirus antigens from nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal samples, offering an alternative to PCR tests. It is effective from one to seven days after the onset of symptoms or after a suspected infection, Genomic Vision said.
The Coronadiag+ test detects IgG and IgM antibodies from blood, is effective from 14 to 19 days after a suspected infection, and has been validated by the National Reference Centre, Institut Pasteur, and the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health, the firm added.
The tests provide results within 15 minutes and don't require additional instrumentation, increasing the probability of detecting people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and enabling screening for COVID-19, Genomic Vision said. With its network of hospital partners, it anticipates contributing to "the wide distribution of these tests," the firm said in a statement.
Yossi Berros, CEO of Strasbourg, France-based Toda Pharma, a pharmaceutical company that specializes in rapid diagnostic tests, said in a statement that his firm was one of the first European laboratories to develop a rapid serological test for the detection of coronavirus IgG and IgM in February. "With our new antigenic diagnostic test, we aim to offer short and long-term patient screening," he said.