Ortho's CE-Marked VITROS SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Detects Asymptomatic COVID-19 Individuals

- Ortho's VITROS SARS-CoV-2 antigen test can detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in asymptomatic individuals.

- The low-cost VITROS antigen test can run up to 130 tests per hour and is a viable choice for frequent, high-throughput testing and monitoring of large community populations.

RARITAN, N.J., Nov. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a global leader of in vitro diagnostics, today announced that its CE-marked VITROS SARS-CoV-2 antigen test can now detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in asymptomatic individuals. 

The low-cost VITROS antigen test can run up to 130 tests per hour and is able to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals who do not report any symptoms, making it a viable choice for frequent, high-throughput testing and monitoring of large community populations including health care workers, schools, sporting organizations, manufacturing facilities, assisted and institutionalized living, and other communities with access to VITROS instruments.

Ortho's antigen test is offered with 92.3% sensitivity with samples with a cycle threshold (CT— a measure of viral load) count of less than 30. Samples with CT values of 30 or greater are less likely to contain live virus that are capable of replicating in cell cultures, suggesting less infectivity.

"Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise globally, yet there remains significant need for reliable testing and faster results reporting due to the lack of availability, high expense and infrastructure challenges of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing," said Chris Smith, chairman and chief executive officer, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. "Ortho's antigen test enables accurate, frequent mass testing of both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals at a lower cost than PCR. By using analyzers already in place across the world, the test can be instrumental in controlling the spread of the disease."

The VITROS SARS-CoV-2 Antigen test is the latest addition to Ortho's COVID-19 testing solutions. Ortho also manufactures two COVID-19 antibody tests—Total and IgG—which were granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April and achieved CE Mark in May. Millions of COVID-19 tests per day can be processed through the more than 5,600 Ortho immunodiagnostic systems currently in operation worldwide.