The Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow – a major new COVID-19 testing facility based in Scotland – is now operational. The Lighthouse Lab, which officially started testing samples for COVID-19 this week, is part of what will be the biggest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history, alongside other Lighthouse Lab sites in Milton Keynes and Alderley Park, which were opened in recent days....
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has announced it is expanding capacity for viral vector development and manufacturing services with construction of a new commercial manufacturing site in Plainville, Mass. The $180 million project will more than double the company's commercial viral vector capacity to support increasing demand for the development and manufacture of gene therapies and vaccines....
Merck, a leading science and technology company, has announced a second Carlsbad, California, U.S.A.-based facility for its BioReliance® viral and gene therapy service offering. The new, € 100 million commercial facility is expected to open next year. “Viral vector manufacturing has transitioned from a niche industry to the cornerstone of the future of biopharmaceuticals,” said Udit Batra, member of the Merck Executive Board and CEO, Life Science....
The University of Oxford has announced an agreement with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the further development, large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate currently being trialled by the University. The partnership is to begin immediately with the final terms being agreed in the coming weeks. This will allow for rapid vaccination around the world if the COVID-19 vaccine candidate proves to be effective....
Avacta Group plc (AIM: AVCT), the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a collaboration with Cytiva, formerly known as GE Healthcare Life Sciences. The companies will develop and manufacture an Affimer-based point-of-care rapid test intended for screening of large populations to diagnose the COVID-19 coronavirus infection. The World Health Organisation recently....
Labs working to combat COVID-19 will benefit from this initiative, as CytoSMART aims to reduce the huge workload currently facing researchers on projects vital to controlling the disease. “We aim to do our part to assist researchers in minimizing the time they have to spend in high-contamination labs, by providing them with remote video access to evaluate the status of their cell cultures. The video data is used to remotely monitor the cytopathic effect, this way researchers know when it’s the right time to harvest the virus....
The machine, a Tecan Freedom EVO 100, will be used to help automate and accelerate the analysis of samples at the first of the UK Government’s new Lighthouse Labs in Milton Keynes. The state-of-the-art liquid handling machine is designed to automate the pipetting of multiple samples in laboratories undertaking biological testing. The EVO 100 is considerably faster than manual pipetting, increasing the speed at which assays can be run and enhancing sample through-put. The equipment also facilitates better assay reproducibility and allows resources and testing equipment to be used more efficiently....
The Covid-19 Volunteer Testing Network has been launched to provide essential additional testing capacity to front-line workers. The project, started by Mike Fischer CBE, helps small laboratories convert to run critical antigen testing and identify Covid-19 cases among local healthcare workers - at no cost to Government. The UK has thousands of small laboratories with the right equipment, personnel and processes to run Covid-19 testing...
Temperature control technology from Huber is used, for example, to manufacture chemicals for coronavirus tests. The corona pandemic poses great challenges to people around the world. Health systems and medical facilities are being subjected to an unprecedented test of endurance. The novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2 has put the entire world in a state of emergency...
Leading research materials supplier, Goodfellow, is showing support to several initiatives in the fight against COVID-19, supplying materials that are being used to make protective equipment for frontline workers. Their latest donation has seen the company donate 130 kilos of polypropylene coil to Stamford School in Lincolnshire, UK, where Design Technology teachers are voluntarily manufacturing 1,000 protective face masks a day...
Beaumont Health’s Research Institute is launching America’s largest serological testing study to help answer many questions surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and potentially help treat patients battling the virus. New study aims to determine the total population with COVID-19 antibodies across a health system, identify potential convalescent plasma donors, better understand disease transmission and contribute to a scientifically-based methodology for returning people to work....
Miele’s two latest professional laboratory glasswashers have been honoured with design awards. The iF Design Awards have been hosted every year since 1953 by the International Forum Design – headquartered in Germany but assessing more than 6,000 submissions from 70 countries worldwide.In 2020 Miele’s SlimLine glass washer range (PLW 6011-6111) and newly introduced large chamber lab washer (PLW 86xx) have been chosen as winning designs...
The precision diagnostics company BillionToOne has announced a significant development in the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. BillionToOne has developed a highly accurate and cost-effective novel COVID-19 test protocol, unlocking the capacity to perform 1+ million tests per day in the United States alone. Test reagents will be available in 2 weeks, pending....
Care Access Research, the leader in rapid development and management of high-performing clinical research sites, announced it is leading a validation trial in conjunction with the FDA for a new at-home COVID-19 test developed by a private genomics lab that manufactures DNA screening kits. The goal of this validation study is to evaluate the efficacy of the new at-home test for diagnosing COVID-19....
The Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA), a trade group that represents Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) and other service providers in the bio/pharmaceutical sector, reports that many of its member companies are actively involved in helping their clients develop and produce treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics for COVID-19....
Electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) pioneer, BioData, announces its support for the global science community with the introduction of a new video conferencing service in its leading Labguru ELN platform, free of charge for all customers. The new LabRoom tool facilitates live global collaboration, experiment planning and tracking, as well as data collation and analysis, all within the Labguru electronic web notebook...
Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) have pulled together a selection of products which can be used in the fight against COVID-19, whether through patient care, diagnostic testing or scientific research. They understand how important the continuation of your critical work is and they are doing everything they can to maintain the supply of laboratory products to you....
INTEGRA Biosciences is offering labs a chance to win a VIAFLO multichannel electronic pipette of their choice. The VIAFLO electronic pipette is designed to offer better pipetting for virtually any application, helping you to get amazing results much quicker. Electronic pipettes can enhance the productivity and performance of a workflow by maximizing reproducibility and minimizing the risk of errors or operator-to-operator variability....
The University of Glasgow will host a major COVID-19 testing facility in Glasgow, in support of current UK and Scottish Governments and NHS efforts against the coronavirus pandemic. This is part of a series of measures to increase testing and response to the spread of COVID-19 across the UK. It will be opened in collaboration with the Scottish Government and industry experts from BioAscent Discovery Ltd and the University of Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit....
PCR Biosystems, the UK-based PCR experts, are continuing to scale up operations to ensure the critical enzyme mix for COVID-19 tests remain available to the UK and global healthcare systems as demand for testing rises. To meet current and upcoming requirements and ensure supply chain security, PCR Biosystems has already significantly increased – and will continue to increase...
Scientists on Standby has been rapidly conceptualised and launched in response to the COVID-19 crisis and in anticipation of the increasing pressure on UK diagnostic testing laboratories and facilities in the coming weeks and months. The portal enables scientists with relevant skills and experience to volunteer their time, expertise and support for COVID-19 screening and testing....
Britain could be testing up to 100,000 patients per day for COVID-19 and have results back within 24 hours – if many researchers who are currently sitting at home were classed as key workers and redundant taxi drivers and delivery companies enlisted. hat is the view of infectious disease expert Professor Colin Garner who has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ask why we are creating “a central testing facility in Milton Keynes”...