NEW YORK – Fujirebio Europe and Centogene said on Monday that they have partnered to offer Fujirebio's Lumipulse G SARS-CoV-2 Ag antigen test to travelers at airports in Germany.
Under the agreement, Centogene will install Fujirebio's Lumipulse G1200 instruments in its testing laboratories in order to analyze samples it collects from travelers using its oropharyngeal swabs. Centogene will also report test results using its existing digital platform.
The agreement adds another option to Centogene's existing PCR-based SARS-CoV-2 testing menu. "Over the past months, we have seen an increasing need for easily accessible, reliable, and rapid coronavirus tests," said Volkmar Weckesser, Centogene's chief information officer, in a statement. "We have been able to establish a blueprint for this – having set up test centers at four of Germany’s largest airports in the last six months. We are very excited to now expand on these services with the support of Fujirebio’s advanced technology."
"We are certain that the speed, high sensitivity, and high quality of the Lumipulse G SARS-CoV-2 Ag testing solution combined with the flexibility of our platform to fit in the existing Centogene workflow will ensure a trustworthy and efficient testing offer," said Fujirebio Europe CEO Christiaan De Wilde.
Centogene will start offering the antigen test to travelers departing from Hamburg Airport on Nov. 12. Under an exclusive agreement with Lufthansa, the test will be available free of charge to Lufthansa passengers on certain connections.
Fujirebio's Lumipulse G SARS-CoV-2 Ag assay measures coronavirus antigen in swab or saliva samples using chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) technology. Test results are available within 40 minutes from sample receipt in the laboratory. The assay has been used since August by authorities in Japan to screen arriving travelers at major Japanese airports.
Fujirebio Europe is part of Japanese in vitro diagnostics firm Fujirebio, itself a subsidiary of H.U. Group Holdings, formerly known as Miraca Holdings.