Seegene Develops Diagnostic Reagents Specialized for 'Delta and Lambda Variants'

Detectable with saliva... "Suitable for large-scale testing"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Seegene announced on the 6th that it introduced a diagnostic reagent targeting the Delta variant, which has become the dominant strain of COVID-19, and the Lambda variant, which has the potential to spread newly, on the 3rd.

The newly released ‘Novaplex™ SARS-CoV-2 Variants Ⅴ Assay’ allows testing not only through the conventional nasopharyngeal swab method but also via saliva. According to the company, this enables the test subject to collect samples themselves without medical professionals, depending on each country's medical guidelines, making it suitable for large-scale testing.

Another advantage is the significant reduction in the time required to confirm infection with variant viruses. Currently, confirming variant virus infection requires additional COVID-19 genetic analysis for confirmed cases, which takes 1 to 2 days. In contrast, using Seegene’s new product, it is possible to test for COVID-19 infection and identify Delta and Lambda variants within approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Since the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, Seegene has developed diagnostic reagents tailored to each emerging variant. In February last year, based on its proprietary technology, the company developed diagnostic reagents just two weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) released the COVID-19 genome sequence, playing a significant role in preventing the early spread of COVID-19. Subsequently, through WHO’s analysis of COVID-19 spread and its own AI-based variant virus monitoring system, Seegene rapidly developed multiplex diagnostic reagents capable of testing COVID-19, influenza, and RSV viruses simultaneously, as well as reagents that can diagnose all currently reported variants of concern such as Alpha and Beta. This product was developed as a specialized reagent based on continuous variant virus monitoring, which indicated a high likelihood of Delta and Lambda variants spreading in the second half of the year.

Lee Min-cheol, head of Seegene’s R&D division, stated, “We are developing diagnostic products for newly named variant viruses such as the ‘Mu’ variant designated by WHO by monitoring COVID-19 variants occurring worldwide in real time,” adding, “Seegene will continue to rapidly develop diagnostic products for COVID-19 variants to contribute to blocking the global spread of COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.