Molecular diagnostics firm distributes 3.5m COVID-19 tests

ELITechGroup Molecular Diagnostics has distributed more than 3.5 million SARS-CoV-2 tests worldwide. The company has also installed more than 500 of its diagnostics instrument, the ELITe InGenius polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, globally, with over 100 placed since the beginning of the pandemic.

The system allows laboratories to reliably detect SARS-CoV2 within a few hours, as well as conducting parallel testing for other diseases, such as flu, in order to ensure a correct diagnosis. 

The ELITe InGenius has been widely used in hospitals and other healthcare settings since 2016, and thanks to its adaptability, ELITechGroup was among the first companies to have SARS-CoV-2 tests on a sample-to-result system. The company has been supplying tests on its system since early March in Italy, and other affected countries, including as France, the UK, and the Benelux. 

The ELITe InGenius is an automated solution that can process 12 samples in parallel to deliver results in less than 2.5 hours. This brings several benefits over centralised high-throughput testing approaches as there is no waiting for a large batch of samples to accumulate before testing, and no delays from sending samples off premises to a central laboratory. 

By performing extraction, amplification and result interpretation in one device, the ELITe InGenius replaces the multiple devices needed to perform such tasks separately. Full automation also means there is no need for constant supervision, allowing laboratory staff to perform other work.

The ELITe InGenius has 38 CE-IVD assays dedicated to the individual needs of healthcare settings, be it immunocompromised patient monitoring; detection of respiratory, gastro-intestinal, sexually transmitted or nosocomial infections; meningitis and encephalitis, as well as diagnostics of genetic factors.

Chirstoph Gauer, ELITechGroup, CEO, said: “The continued rapid spread of the novel Coronavirus makes it important for every country to test as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible. We are proud to have played an essential role in equipping healthcare staff with the testing tools they need. We have now expanded our manufacturing capacity to help provide additional ELITe InGenius systems to both new and existing hospitals and laboratories, globally and to support healthcare systems to prepare for the expectedly increasing demand for rapid and reliable diagnostics for all patients.”