17 March, 2021
Fortress Diagnostics are proud to announce that our COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Test has once again been chosen as ‘the most suitable candidate’ for the National Coronavirus Disease 2019 Seroprevalence Programme (real time assessment of community transmission- REACT 2) and will continue to be used in the ongoing rounds of the REACT 2 programme.
The REACT programme is being undertaken in partnership between Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and Ipsos Mori. The study is government funded and has been commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care.
National Seroprevalence Programmes surrounding SARS-CoV-2 are an important method of assessing past exposure to COVID-19 as well as providing information to assist with public health policy and help in understanding the epidemiology of the virus.
In the most recent study published by the British Medical Journal on 2nd March 2021, 7 new lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA) were evaluated to assess their suitability for use in the National Coronavirus Disease 2019 Seroprevalence Programme.
The Results
The key findings of this study are;
- Fortress lateral flow antibody tests remain ‘the most suitable candidate’ for ongoing rounds of the REACT 2 programme and will continue to be used in the survey
- No other lateral flow device significantly outperformed the Fortress test
- Lateral flow antibody tests are an important tool in the assessment of population SARS-CoV-2 past infection
- Other tests in the study achieved comparable results in a laboratory setting using serum/plasma samples but varied on sensitivity when using a finger prick blood sample, which is the intended sample to be used
The study also notes key benefits of using lateral flow devices, mainly that they are a rapid, scalable and affordable method of testing without the need for central laboratory support.
These findings illustrate the reliability and quality of the Fortress lateral flow antibody test and are a testament to the hard work and dedication from the Fortress team since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past year, we have developed a range of high-quality rapid antibody, antigen and PCR tests and continue to supply local and global markets to aid in the testing and surveillance of SarS-CoV-2.
For further information on our product offering contact covid19@fortressdiagnostics.com or visit https://www.fortressdiagnostics.com/products/covid-19
To read the full British Medical Journal study visit; https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n423
