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Singapore fighting COVID-19 with Fortitude

25 March 2020 | News

It is the first “ready-made” hospital lab diagnostic test kit that has received Singapore Health Sciences Authority’s (HSA) Provisional Authorisation for clinical use

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Singapore, have successfully developed a test kit which can detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19, quickly and with high accuracy.

Called Fortitude Kit 2.0, the test was co-developed with, and validated by TTSH. It is the first “ready-made” hospital lab diagnostic test kit that has received Singapore Health Sciences Authority’s (HSA) Provisional Authorisation for clinical use. Each kit comes complete with all the necessary reagents prepared in the right quantities, and quality-controlled tubes.

A*STAR worked with the National Public Health Laboratory at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Singapore, on the appropriate manufacturing standards of the tests. The Diagnostics Development (DxD) Hub, a national initiative led by A*STAR’s commercialisation arm, A*ccelerate, further supported the development and production of these tests.

To complement the Fortitude Kit 2.0, A*STAR and TTSH are also currently working on a Multiplex Diagnostic Kit that can simultaneously differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses, and assist healthcare professionals to make accurate diagnoses. Also in the pipeline is a rapid point-of-care-test, which could potentially expand the availability of testing in locations such as at immigration checkpoints.

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