Home COVID-19 antibody test suitable for clinical population testing

Swedish medtech start-up Capitainer’s home self-sampling kit for analysis of COVID-19 antibody levels, has been shown to be suitable for clinical population testing. 

In a recent Swedish large scale population study, 97% of the samples self-collected and returned to the lab by private individuals met the official quality standard for accurate analysis resulting in clinical diagnosis.

Julia Wigren Byström, CEO of Xerum, the company performing the analysis, said: "Based on 2,500 samples analysed so far, 90% of the Capitainer cards delivered to the private individuals involved in the study were returned with an unprecedented 97% meeting the approved quality standard for analysis.”

Home self-sampling does not require visits by nurses or phlebotomists, it can be carried out without burdening the healthcare facilities already under great pressure and individuals do not need to travel or make extra visits to a clinic. 

Christopher Aulin, CEO if Capitainer said: “I am extremely happy to see the excellent performance of our self-sampling technology. We can now say with confidence that large-scale population testing can be based on self-sampling at home with our product. We have shown that clinical analysis of antibodies against the virus causing COVID-19 using samples collected on our cards works in a real-world setting. We envision a growing need for large-scale testing to ensure that the immunity created by the various vaccines protects against further spread of the disease and illness, especially since new mutations of the virus continue to emerge. We are currently building additional capacity for meeting these needs.”