This blog represents the most up-to-date information about SARS-CoV-2 variants as of January 19, 2021.
It’s a known fact that viruses mutate all the time, and it was no surprise that SARS-CoV-2 was no exception. However, there are whole host of issues that arise when the impact of these mutations is global, and it involves a novel coronavirus crisis. When news of the B.1.1.7 lineage (aka 501Y.V1 or UK variant) and B.1.351 lineage (aka 501Y.V2 or South African variant) broke, it was obvious that scientists would ponder the impact to current TaqPath COVID-19 tests.
The good news is that assay performance should not be impacted, and in this video, Manoj Gandhi, Sr. Director of Medical Affairs at Thermo Fisher Scientific, discusses the company’s approach to infectious disease assay design. He mentions how the assay team was able to lean on their expertise with past outbreaks such as Zika, SARS and MERS during the onset of developing the coronavirus assay. This led to a design that embraces genomic conservation, redundancy and produces an assay that is specific and sensitive.
How to learn more
Thermo Fisher Scientific is committed to providing our global customers with gold-standard molecular technology. We regularly monitor post-market reports and public database updates to provide quality and accurate products. If you’d like more details about the impact of the 69-70del S gene mutation observed in the VUI- 202012/01 or B.1.1.7 variant on our TaqPath COVID-19 tests, please download our detailed FAQ document for the products currently available in your country:
If you have additional questions or would like to discuss your specific situation, please contact our technical support team at www.thermofisher.com/contactus.