North East pharmaceutical firm Immunodiagnostic Systems has won a contract to manufacture a coronavirus antibody test.
The South Tyneside company is working with The Binding Site, a research group that span out from the University of Birmingham, on a test which uses blood samples to test a patient’s ability to fight the Covid-19 virus.
Immunodiagnostic Systems said it has the ability to produce up to two million tests a month at its Boldon facility, with its work involving coating testing plates with the protein developed by the Birmingham researchers and then washing and stabilizing them using its own reagents.
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The test has been cleared for use in Europe and has been submitted to the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval in the US.
The contract has come a few months after the company said it was expecting its second consecutive year of growth and was well placed to get through the coronavirus outbreak.
Jaap Stuut, CEO of Immunodiagnostic Systems, said: “We are delighted that The Binding Site chose Immunodiagnostic Systems to be their manufacturing partner for this unique SARS-CoV-2 ELISA assay.
“Leveraging our 30-year experience in producing ELISA tests, we worked with the team at The Binding Site to agree, validate and audit the manufacturing processes in record time. We look forward to supporting The Binding Site through the commercialisation of this project.”
Charles de Rohan, CEO of The Binding Site, said: “We are very excited to bring this antibody test to market. It is really important that we are able to meet the potentially high market demand, and we chose Immunodiagnostic Systems as our manufacturing partner to increase capacity and bring more product to market in such a short time.
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“Collaboration is one pillar of our company values and we are delighted, once again, to work closely with one of the best in the business.”
Immunodiagnostic Systems was founded in 1977 and is listed on the AIM stock exchange.
The company is a specialist diagnostic provider to the clinical laboratory market and can develop, manufacture and market innovative immunoassays and automated immuno-analyser technologies to provide improved diagnostic outcomes for patients.