Omega Diagnostics: against COVID-19 Company
Entity: Omega Diagnostics
Category: Test Kits
Description: Omega Diagnostics provides IVD products for use in hospitals, blood banks, clinics, and laboratories. Omega Diagnostics Group PLC, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, development, and distribution of medical diagnostic products. The company operates in three segments: Allergy and Autoimmune, Food Intolerance, and Infectious Disease. The Allergy and Autoimmune segment engages in the research, development, production, and marketing of in vitro allergy and autoimmune tests that are used by doctors to diagnose patients with allergies and autoimmune diseases. This segment’s principal products include Allergozyme, Allergodip, and Genesis Elisa. The Food Intolerance segment engages in the research, development, and production of kits that are used in the detection of immune reactions to food. It also provides clinical analysis to the general public, clinics, and health professionals, as well as supplies consumer food detective test. This segment’s principal products include Genarrayt microarray, Food Detective, and Foodprint service. The Infectious Disease segment engages in the research, development, production, and marketing of kits that are used in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, such as syphilis, tuberculosis, dengue fever, Chagas disease, and malaria. Its principal products comprise Immutrep Syphilis, Micropath Bacterial tests, and Dengue Elisa. The company offers its diagnostic kits and systems to hospitals, blood banks, clinics, and laboratories through distributors in approximately 100 countries worldwide. Omega Diagnostics Group PLC was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Alva, the United Kingdom.
Project: UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC)
Summary: The 'UK Rapid Test Consortium, UK-RTC' comprises Oxford University, BBI Solutions, Abingdon Health, CIGA Healthcare, Omega Diagnostics and has been launched to design and develop a new antibody test to determine whether people have developed immunity after contracting the virus. It is hoped a successful test will determine whether people have developed immunity after contracting the virus; along with other companies and the University of Oxford, a six-month memorandum of understanding has been agreed to develop and manufacture the test. If successful, manufacturing can take place in each company, including at a site in Northern Ireland. The companies will use their combined lateral flow test design and manufacturing expertise to boost the design for potential accelerated scale-up to manufacturing of the test.
As part of the government’s National Testing Plan, the expertise and resources of the UK’s life sciences industry are being pooled to build a large British diagnostics industry as quickly as possible. All existing antibody tests that have gone through the validation process have not proven accurate enough, therefore the government is backing efforts to develop a home-grown test. New national collaborations such as the UK-RTC will contribute to the government’s wider target to carry out 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, focusing on frontline healthcare and other essential workers first before deploying the tests to the wider population.
The consortium will draw on BBI Solutions’ rapid test development and expertise, as well as its wider manufacturing capabilities, primarily at its headquarters at Crumlin, South Wales, and its site in Edinburgh. The company will also draw on resource and expertise in other parts of the global BBI Group, in the United States, China and South Africa. BBI Group CEO Dr Mario Gualano said: “BBI Solutions is honoured and privileged to be invited to be part of this consortium, and its critical work.“ Utilising the resources and expertise across BBI Solutions’ global business, we are moving quickly and effectively to seek solutions that will enable the UK to rollout a significantly scaled-up Coronavirus testing programme.” Omega CEO Colin King said: “We are delighted to be part of this consortium and to support the Scottish and UK Governments’ efforts to combat the Coronavirus pandemic and look forward to using Omega’s manufacturing knowledge and capabilities in supporting and furthering this objective.” Officials are working to produce a reliable test which can be used in the community and help to end lockdown safely.
+ Investors:
Parkwalk Advisors
Mobeus Equity Partners
Hygea VCT
