Brazilian Laboratory Develops National Test for Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL -On Wednesday, April 8th, the Centro de Biotecnologia da Amazônia (Biotechnology Center of Amazonia) – CBA – a federally-funded research institute located in Manaus, announced that it was developing a new kit for rapid detection of the disease, using Brazilian materials.

“With each new country the virus mutates and adapts. The diagnostic kits produced with antibodies and imported antigens may have low detection sensitivity in Brazil, since they are not adapted to our viral reality, so there is an urgent need to produce a kit with national supplies to meet the specific and growing Brazilian demand,” said Fábio Calderaro, the CBA manager.

According to Calderaro, the production technique with domestic materials and antigens could be distributed to different production centers, which would be enough to supply the minimum national demand determined by the Ministry of Health, which is 30,000 tests per day.

However, the measure still requires the endorsement of the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), and, according to the manager, the goal can only be achieved in 4 months, following the agency’s approval.

So far, Brazil uses seventeen different brands of kits for rapid Covid-19 diagnosis, all of which have been authorized by ANVISA.

“All [the brands of kits] use antibodies and other imported supplies, mostly from China. Therefore, we are dependent on the foreign market, which currently also requires a large amount of the same supplies due to the pandemic crisis”, pointed out Calderaro.

The domestic kit for the detection of the SARS-cov-2 virus will be similar to the one already used for the diagnosis of HIV and dengue fever. Patients use a disposable tape, where a blood or saliva sample is deposited. The sample undergoes a chemical reaction, and the presence or absence of the virus is shown a few minutes later.

According to biotechnology doctor Diogo Castro, head of the research, much of the test project is now ready. “We already have the antibody and antigen production platform in place and we are working on inserting them into the rapid test tape and making them available to society,” he said.

According to Calderaro, the mass production of rapid diagnostic kits in the state of Amazonas may be used in the future as a mass production hub for the product, but for the diagnosis of different diseases.

“The same plant adopted by the CBA for Covid-19 could be used for the production of other antibodies and tests for diagnosing other diseases of regional and national significance,” he said.

Source: Agência Brasil