GC MS and Genecast team up to develop advanced COVID-19 sampling kit

GC MS, a South Korean diagnostic reagent and medical device company, said on Monday it has signed an agreement with Genecast specified in cancer diagnosis through liquid biopsyto develop a diagnostic reagent to test for COVID-19.

GC MS shares rose 4.71 percent to trade at 3,225 won ($2.52) at 2:15 pm on the Kosdaq market.

Under their agreement, Genecast will be responsible for developing a product and GC MS for commercializing and marketing.

GC MS and Genecast have a track record of sampling kits for influenza and tuberculosis and a cancer gene mutation detection kit, respectively.

The two aims to develop GCare SARS-coV-2, a diagnostic reagent for a sampling kit to test for COVID-19 based on a real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) detection assay, which can amplify and quantify targeted DNA molecules from swabbed samples.

In the development of GCare SARS-coV-2, Genecast’s selective gene amplification system, an ultra-sensitive DNA polymerase technology, according to GS MS.

With the technology applied based on the 561 gene data of COVID-19, which has mutated repeatedly in ways to boost its survival, GS MS expects that the new reagent will further improve diagnostic accuracy.

This cooperation achieved as part of the open innovation strategy pursued by GC MS will create great synergy, GC MS said.

Genecast said it is confident about the reagent’s quality as the most difficult liquid biopsy cancer diagnostic technology will be applied to molecular diagnostic products based on nucleic acid diagnostics.

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