Health Canada approves Real-Time Fluorescent RT-PCR Kit for detecting SARS-CoV-2.- BGI Genomics

BGI Genomics announced that its subsidiary BGI Americas Corporation has received authorization under Interim Order from Health Canada to supply its Real-Time Fluorescent RT-PCR Kit for Detecting SARS-CoV-2 in the Canadian market. The testing kit is part of an integrated solution that includes automated extraction methods to support fast and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 around the world.

BGI Genomics and MGI, members of the BGI Group, are jointly providing a high throughput, clinically validated workflow to address major bottlenecks for large-scale COVID-19 testing. The solution includes BGI’s Real-Time Fluorescent RT-PCR Kit for Detecting SARS-CoV-2, which is the authorized device by Health Canada, as well as MGI’s MGIEasy Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit and MGISP-960RS Automated Sample Preparation System.

Both BGI and MGI have existing local entities and business operations in Canada, allowing the companies to deploy immediate local resources for establishing supply chain and customer service to ensure successful adoption of the testing solution in clients’ laboratories.BGI’s highly-sensitive RT-PCR testing kit, which can return results within three hours, detects the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 extracted from a wide range of respiratory samples.

The authorization includes MGI’s MGIEasy Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit as a validated method for viral RNA extraction, which is currently in abundant supply worldwide and addresses a severe sample preparation bottleneck for widespread testing. In addition, MGI’s robotic sample preparation system significantly improves throughput and reproducibility. The combination of the MGI products enable processing of 192 samples in 80 minutes, a major increase in productivity compared to manual processing.