Veredus to develop a Lab-on-Chip for the detection of 3 coronaviruses

The solution will be able to identify and differentiate MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and 2019-nCoV with high specificity and sensitivity.

Veredus Lab-on-Chip

Provider of molecular diagnostic solutions Veredus Laboratories announced today the development of VereCoV detection kit, a portable Lab-on-Chip application capable of detecting the Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) i.e. Wuhan Coronavirus, in a single test.

The VereCoV Detection Kit is based on the VereChip technology, a Lab onChip platform integrating two powerful molecular biological applications, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and microarray, that will be able to identify and differentiate MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and 2019-nCoV with high specificity and sensitivity.

“Given the high transmission rates of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, it is inevitable that the 2019-nCoV could possibly result in high incidences of transmission,” Dr Sato Mitsuharu, R&D Director of Veredus, said in a statement. “There are similarities in genetic make-up between these Coronaviruses, however gene mutations in the 2019-nCoV are largely responsible for recent outbreak cases. It is therefore critical for our multiplexing assay to provide wide genetic coverage to detect and differentiate these Coronaviruses, particularly to identify 2019-nCoV for appropriate mitigation actions, if necessary.”

Dr Rosemary Tan, CEO of Veredus Laboratories added, “This VereCoV Detection Kit will be one of the first commercially available kits in the world with the capability to detect, differentiate and identify all 3 Coronaviruses in a single test in about 2 hours.”

The VereCoV Detection Kit is expected to be commercially available during the first quarter of the year.