Avacta Group has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bruker to evaluate the Affimer-based, bead-assisted mass spectrometry (BAMS) SARS-CoV-2 assay, developed with Adeptrix.
Bruker is an analytical instrumentation company providing high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions to scientists globally. It is also a supplier of mass spectrometers with a significant installed based in clinical microbiology laboratories in hospitals worldwide.
Avacta has worked with Adeptrix to develop a coronavirus antigen test that combines enrichment of the sample using Affimer reagents with the analytical power of mass-spectrometry. Up to 1000 samples per day can be analysed by a single operative using a BAMS assay, exceeding the capacity of the commonly used PCR machines, making BAMS a potentially very attractive high-throughput technique for COVID-19 screening in the clinical setting.
Having successfully developed a prototype test with Adeptrix, Avacta has been working with its clinical partners in the UK to refine the assay to fit into the typical workflows in a clinical microbiology laboratory. The collaboration with Bruker will assess the suitability of the test as a professional-use in vitro diagnostic (IVD) product for SARS-CoV-2 infection to run on Bruker’s MALDI-TOF instruments for sale in the UK and Europe.