Faster, Cheaper, More Reliable COVID-19 Tests Needed for the Unprecedented Demand Ahead

FN Media Group Presents USA News Group News Commentary

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- USA News Group - It may have its beginning for the UK travel industry, but there are signs of the end of using polymerase chain reaction, better known as the PCR test, to detect Covid-19. Mass testing is becoming a major burden, as European nations, such as Finland and Estonia are contemplating scrapping the test, while a top UK watchdog began an investigation back in August into the test's pricing and reliability. With new employee mandates in the US set to impact roughly 100 million Americans, it's worth looking at what testing options are out there beyond the PCR, which often takes days to return results. With the NIH investing $248.7 million in new testing technologies, as well as new options under review by the FDA and other bodies, it's worth looking at the market's response, including offerings from BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE:BIOV) (OTCQB:BVAXF), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX), Quidel Corporation (NASDAQ:QDEL) and CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS).

Instead of just testing for the virus itself, a new test that screens for a T cell-mediated immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is in development through the work of BioVaxys Technology Corp. (CSE:BIOV) (OTCQB:BVAXF) and $63-billion Chinese biomanufacturing partners, WuXi Biologics.

The test is called CoviDTH, and is based on Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity ("DTH") technology. It's the world's first low cost, disposable, diagnostic to identify a T-cell immune response to the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Data for this form of testing suggests it may even be more accurate than current methods, by measuring the immune system's active infection response.

Current tests for immunity to Covid-19 only measure antibodies, while the other form of the immune response, T cell immunity, is often ignored. Recent study results in humans showed that the DTH response is highly durable and persists for at least one year after COVID-19 exposure or vaccine administration.

Measuring T cell immunity requires the drawing of two ounces of blood from the test subject and a time-consuming and expensive analysis of the blood sample at laboratories possessing specialized equipment.

BioVaxys recently announced that WuXi successfully completed synthesis of a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 s-protein, which the company can then use as part of its work towards potential a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for CoviDTH, as well as BVX-0320, the company's COVID-19 vaccine candidate.