Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche said on Tuesday it would produce a new antigen test for COVID-19, allowing high-volume and rapid testing for the deadly disease, by the end of the year. The new Elecsys SARS-CoV-2 Antigen test is meant to be administered by healthcare professionals in a lab setting and allows the detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 in as little as 18 minutes, Roche said.The new coronavirus has killed nearly 1.1 million people and infected more than 37.5 million worldwide since it first surfaced in China late last year.
Roche said its test would first be available for countries that recognise the CE mark for products sold in the European Union, adding that it was also seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Antigen tests are typically less sensitive than the more traditional PCR diagnostic test to low levels of virus.
Roche has already launched eight COVID-19 tests since the start of the crisis, including one that can distinguish between COVID-19 and the flu.
(AFP)
