Open Orphan plc (LON:ORPH) the rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which has a focus on orphan drugs and is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge study models, today announced that Quotient has entered into an exclusive contract with hVIVO to support COVID-19 antibody testing in the UK.
The MosaiQ™ by Quotient system and MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray will be used by hVIVO to screen for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (COVID-19). The MosaiQ COVID-19 Antibody Microarray was CE marked (certified to meet EU requirements) as of 01 May 2020 based on testing that demonstrated 100% sensitivity (ability to detect COVID-19 antibodies) and 99.8% specificity (ability to rule out the presence of COVID-19 antibodies). The test is designed as a serological disease screen specific to COVID-19. It detects the IgG and IgM antibodies that humans develop when infected by SARS-CoV-2.
Quotient is a Nasdaq listed, commercial-stage diagnostics company delivering diagnostic solutions. MosaiQ is Quotient’s proprietary multiplex microarray technology, offering the world’s first fully automated, consolidated testing platform, allowing for multiple tests across different modalities.
Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman of Open Orphan, said:
“We are delighted to exclusively partner with Quotient Limited to bring fast and accurate COVID-19 antibody testing to the UK. Open Orphan plc, via our subsidiary hVIVO, has industry leading scientific and laboratory capability and the MosaiQ™ system’s best in class COVID-19 antibody testing performance makes the system a natural addition to our state-of-the-art virology laboratory in London. There is a clear demand for COVID-19 antibody testing and we will be making testing available both as a standalone offering and will also utilize the testing capability to screen volunteers for our industry leading range of human challenge studies to ensure no disruption to our clients.”
Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient, said:
“This collaboration marks a major milestone for our company, and we are proud to collaborate with an industry leader like hVIVO. Quotient has developed what we believe is a gold standard antibody microarray to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This collaboration is uniquely positioned to leverage our combined expertise, and helps address the large need for antibody testing in the U.K. and beyond.” said Franz Walt, Chief Executive Officer of Quotient.
