COVID-19 test kits are being developed in Germantown amid growing need for testing in U.S.
GERMANTOWN, Md. (ABC7) — QIAGEN, which has been at the forefront of surveillance and testing for COVID-19, today has announced that under a new FDA policy, the company has begun shipments of its new Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel test.
Those kits are being made in Germantown, Maryland.
The U.S Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has already provided QIAGEN with $600,000 to accelerate the development of its cartridge-based test kits to help differentiate the novel coronavirus from 21 other serious respiratory infections. The testing panel could provide results in as little as one hour.
Responding to these extraordinary demands for its products, the company has increased production to three shifts a day, seven days a week at these facilities.
A week ago QIAGEN was asking for volunteers to help put together these life-saving kits.
A spokesperson with QIAGEN says this now is an unprecedented situation and demand is exploding, especially in the United States and this is stretching their capacity.
QIAGEN uses sample technologies to collect samples of tissue, fluids, etc.
The testing panel could provide results in as little as one hour.
QIAGEN’s molecular testing is headquartered in Germany. They also have plants in Spain where over 1,700 people have already died.
Scientists here tell us the number of applications they received has by far outnumbered the available capacity of currently open manufacturing positions.
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