Dear partners, in the context of the ongoing pandemic, the information about new variants of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strains regularly appears. The emergence of new strains always causes some concern, including in terms of the effectiveness of their diagnosis. Specialists of the scientific department of «Lytech» Co. Ltd. are closely monitoring information on all new mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including new strains that are potentially characterized by increased contagiousness and transmission. These are variants of British (B.1.1.7), South African (B.1.351), Japanese (P.1), Brazilian (B.1.1.248 / P.1 and P.2), Indian (B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2), Nigerian (B.1.525) and California (B.1.427 and B.1.429) SARS-CoV-2 strains.
It should be noted that the POLYVIR SARS-CoV-2 Base/Express reagent kit we produce, was initially developed taking into account the risks of mutations in the viral genome. So, along with the analysis of the target - the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene (RdRp gene), the analysis of a highly conserved part of the genome that is not subject to mutational changes (E gene) is also carried out. Specialists of « Lytech » Co. Ltd. conducted an additional analysis of new data on the genomic sequences of the above-mentioned mutant strains of SARS-CoV-2. The results of the study suggest that the regions of the target RdRp gene analyzed by our kit do not have mutations that affect the specificity of the test. Therefore, there is no reason to worry.
Thus, we are pleased to inform you that the POLYVIR SARS-CoV-2 Base/Express reagent kit has high specificity for reliable detection of viral RNA of various SARS-CoV-2 strains, including British (B.1.1.7), South African (B.1.351), Japanese (P.1), Brazilian (B.1.1.248 / P.1 and P.2), Indian (B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2), Nigerian (B.1.525) and California (B.1.427 and B.1.429) SARS-CoV-2 variants.