By Ask A Scientist Staff
12.18.2020
In early March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which was discovered in 2019, a pandemic. It had already spread beyond its origin point in China and become a serious illness in numerous other countries, creating a serious and frightening issue that the world’s scientists would need to address.
A Gold-Standard Test in Record Time
As the illness spread and large-scale lockdowns and other intensive measures became necessary to contain both the virus’s propagation and the disease’s impact on the world’s economies, clinicians and scientists began to work together to find ways to diagnose and combat the virus. It was vitally important to create a diagnostic test, one that would work quickly and distinguish SARS-CoV-2 from other viruses that cause diseases with similar symptoms.
This is precisely what Thermo Fisher Scientific did in record time. Thermo Fisher Scientific’s real-time PCR-based COVID-19 test diagnoses the virus in less than three hours and received emergency-use authorization (EUA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March 2020.
In addition, it later received the CE-IVD mark in Europe, indicating its conformity to the health, safety, and environmental protection standards of the European Economic Community. The Applied Biosystems TaqPath COVID-19 test kit is now available in nearly 180 countries, encompassing much of the world’s population, and has become a common part of medical systems during this difficult time.
The TaqPath COVID-19 test kit received such rapid adoption around the world because regulatory bodies understand the need for accurate, proven, gold-standard technology to combat this deadly pandemic. Real-time PCR technology on which the TaqPath COVID-19 test kits are based enables scientists and medical teams to operate on a global scale with shared tools and shared expertise.
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s size, scale, and worldwide presence makes it uniquely suited to tackling global problems like SARS-CoV-2, so it is no surprise that Thermo Fisher Scientific is leading the world in COVID19 testing with over 50% of testing performed on our technology.
Additionally, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s scale and depth of capabilities has never been more vital, and its mission of enabling its customers to make the world better, cleaner, and safer has never been more important.
The Scale to Face a Pandemic
From the start of this pandemic, Thermo Fisher Scientific has mobilized supply chains, activated research and development resources, and deployed field teams to enable customers to meet the demand for COVID-19 testing around the world. It is important for the reliable supply of test kits to continue unimpeded and it is Thermo Fisher Scientific’s top priority to maintain that supply during these challenging times.
Even as lockdowns and shutdowns occur across the world, Thermo Fisher Scientific can deploy support teams to active laboratories to keep them running, on short notice and at speed. When on-site visits are not workable, service and support teams can offer remote guidance.
With an industry-leading supply chain and world-class service and support, Thermo Fisher Scientific is leading the world in COVID-19 testing. Fully 40% of COVID-19 testing is performed on Thermo Fisher Scientific technology and Thermo Fisher Scientific has the capacity to manufacture tens of millions of tests per week, making Thermo Fisher Scientific the ideal trusted provider for ongoing COVID19 testing needs.
For more information or to request a quote, visit the TaqPath COVID-19 test kits page. Learn more about our full portfolio of COVID-19 testing solutions by visiting our COVID-19 Testing Solutions page.