Local SME to mass-produce Sars-CoV-2 diagnostic test kits

LOCAL medtech firm MiRXES will take charge of mass-producing locally-developed diagnostic test kits for the novel coronavirus, as Singapore prepares to meet high levels of demand both locally and internationally for fast, accurate SARS-CoV-2 tests.

The diagnostic test kit was developed within just three weeks by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and has received approval from the Health Sciences Authority.

It uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to directly detect the pathogen that causes the Covid-19 disease, as opposed to other methods that detect antibodies produced in response to an infection, for instance. Singapore has sent 10,000 of these tests to China, and another 5,000 to local public hospitals.

The initial batch was manufactured by the Diagnostics Development (DxD) Hub, which also supported the verification of the tests. However, the DxD Hub is now handing the baton off to MiRXES, a spinoff from A*Star and the National University of Singapore, which specialises in developing and producing PCR-based molecular diagnostic tests.

"We have been working with DxD Hub in the past five years, developing different tests like our gastric cancer screening tests approved in May 2019," co-founder and CEO Zhou Lihan told The Business Times.

"The relationship and trust built from working with DxD Hub over these years enabled our teams to quickly come together and complete the tech transfer and pilot manufacturing within a week."

On Feb 14, A*Star's commercialisation arm, A*ccelerate, which leads the DxD Hub initiative, licensed to MiRXES the rights to manufacture and commercialise the test kit. MiRXES will start manufacturing the test kits this week; its current capacity of 100,000 tests a week can be ramped up to 250,000 a week if required.

With MiRXES handling the bulk of the manufacturing, DxD Hub will be able to focus on developing new tools required as the outbreak progresses, said DxD Hub CEO Sidney Yee. These will be used to monitor recovering patients and to surveil populations that have been infected.

Dr Yee noted that while DxD Hub is capable of translating research output into products, it does not necessarily have the capability to take the products to market. This is where local small and mid-sized enterprises like MiRXES step in, and they get the added benefit of building up their own capabilities at the same time.

MiRXES will further develop the test kits to make them as accurate and user-friendly as possible, as different labs in other countries may not have the same equipment as Singapore hospitals do, or may have fewer well-trained personnel, requiring the kits to be modified to reduce errors.

Dr Yee added that Singapore's ability to be self-sufficient and have a local company produce the kits provides a sense of security, especially in a situation like the current outbreak.

"I'm grateful that MiRXES decided to set up its full manufacturing facility in Singapore, so that we don't have to depend on other countries for something that is so personal to us." she said.

CREDIT: Leila Lai

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This article was written by Leila Lai from The Singapore Business Times and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.