A WARRINGTON firm that has developed a COVID testing kit that gives results in 15 minutes has been swamped with orders.
As a result, testing firm AlphaBiolabs has created 10 new roles to cater for demand from UK businesses for the kit.
The test, which works in a similar fashion to a pregnancy test, can detect the presence of Covid-19 after the onset of symptoms or from 14 days after initial exposure to the virus. It identifies specific proteins, known as antigens, which are situated on the cell membranes of the virus.
David Thomas (pictured), managing director of AlphaBiolabs, said the kit has become the company’s best-selling test as businesses seek to screen their staff without having to wait days for the results to become available following laboratory analysis.
The kit, which is sold for professional or business use only, is outselling AlphaBiolabs’ back-to-lab PCR coronavirustest by a factor of more than 10 to one.
Mr Thomas said sales of the antigen kit during November and December combined were over 70 per cent higher than those in September and October, and orders for January are rocketing as employers gear up for a fresh surge in Covid-19 testing programmes when staff to return to work after the festive period.
The rapid antigen test is carried out on-site by taking samples from the nose and throat. The result is made known via a portable immunoassay screening cassette.
Mr Thomas added: “Businesses across the UK are clearly trying to manage and navigate their operations in a proactive manner. “Orders for January are extremely high, amid concerns of a third wave of the virus in the New Year as a result of people socialising with family and friends or travelling abroad over the festive period.
“Employers are concerned that staff may have been exposed to the virus and could be about to bring a Covid viral infection into the workplace, and they are looking at effective testing programmes to protect their businesses and workforce.”
Demand is highest in industries where people cannot work from home and are in contact with others in the workplace. These include manufacturing, engineering, energy, warehousing, transport, infrastructure, construction, film and TV production.
“There is a real commitment among employers to keep Covid-19 out of the workplace as much as possible,” Mr Thomas added.
