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Roche Holding AG said Friday that it is developing a new serology test to detect antibodies in patients who have been exposed to the new coronavirus.
The Swiss drug maker ROG, +3.18% said the Elecsys Anti-Sars-CoV-2 immunoassay is an in-vitro test to detect antibodies and assess the body’s immune reaction to Sars-CoV-2, better known as Covid-19, using human serum and plasma from a blood sample.
Roche said the test would be available by early May for countries under the European Union’s CE mark, and that it is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization.
The company said it is planning to ramp-up monthly production to reach high double-digit million tests by June.
“The antibody test is an important next step in the fight against Covid-19. Roche’s antibody test can be quickly scaled and made broadly available around the world as our instrument infrastructure is already in place,” said Thomas Schinecker, Chief Executive for Roche Diagnostics.
