CANARY GLOBAL INC.’s PELICAN DIGIGENE™ PLATFORM, WORLD’S FIRST POINT OF CARE, REAL-TIME COVID-19 MUTANT IDENTIFICATION TEST
COVID-19 test manufacturer continues real-time tracking variants at the point-of-care
Company is committed to working with governments to reduce variant spread
New York, USA -
Canary Global Inc. has developed the world’s first COVID-19 rapid diagnostic point-of-care variant test, capable of screening COVID-19 and identifying multiple mutant variations in a single reaction using its DigiGENE platform.
The new Pelican DigiGENE platform’s variant test, the ‘DigiGENE SARS-CoV-2 Variants I Assay,’ can detect and differentiate virus variations, including those found to be more contagious and fatal. The new variant test not only detects COVID-19, but can also identify major genetic variations that seem to have originated from the UK, South Africa as well as other regions including Japan and Brazil.
This new product integrates proprietary technologies on the Pelican platform, including a multiplex real-time Digital Gene Assay mDGA™. This innovative technology allows testing to detect a target specific spot where mutation occurs, enabling precise detection and differentiation of the coronavirus as well as its mutated versions with a real-time point-of-care single cartridge system. Results are available in under 5 minutes.
By utilizing the Pelican platform’s big data auto-surveillance in silico system, the company is closely monitoring and analyzing a worldwide database on COVID-19 and its variants, allowing it to quickly respond with product development.
Currently governments and health authorities around the world are forced to rely on individual sample sequencing, which is unsuitable to massive testing, to filter out virus variants from COVID-19 positive cases. “New COVID-19 diagnostic point-of-care and real-time variant test will significantly boost massive testing ability in its fight against the global-spread of mutant viruses when the time is key to controlling the pandemic,” says Raj Reddy, CEO of Canary Global Inc.
Current diagnostics rely on PCR tests or rapid antigen/ antibody tests to diagnose COVID-19 infection or the existence of antibodies. However current diagnostic methods experience limitations in screening virus variants, resulting in significant challenges to effective epidemic prevention.
Previously, only PCR methods could screen and identify variants, but doing that in real-time at the point-of-care has not been possible until Canary’s Pelican platform’s new variant test was developed. According to Raj Reddy, plans to supply its COVID-19 variant tests to global organizations and governments “is a priority”.
Canary Global Inc. plans to work closely with industry partners and governments to refine the research and development of the product.
Pelican Pro DigiGENE COVID-19, which will enter the market later this year, is an ultra-rapid molecular (60 second) saliva test that detects viral RNA directly using Canary’s Pelican DigiGENE platform with sensitivity and specificity similar to rt-PCR. This test is a Point-of-Care test for professional use, and has an LOD of 550 virus copies/mL. The Pelican DigiGENE platform is designed to detect fragments in the Open Reading Frame (ORF1ab) gene and the Nucleocapsid (N) gene of SARS-CoV-2. The RNA targets especially the N gene appears to be well conserved in the variant(s) and therefore we are confident this test will also detect variants. The test has a dual targeting system for combination Influenza/SARS-CoV-2. By directly detecting the viral RNA without additional manipulations, the test yields quantitative RNA measurements rather than simply a positive or negative result.
Additionally, the dual targeting system can be used to differentiate whether the positive result is wild type virus (normal COVID-19) vs major variants.
- Pelican Pro DigiGENE can quantitatively detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA without pre-amplification
- Pelican Pro DigiGENE targeting multiple regions of the viral RNA enhances sensitivity
- Pelican Pro DigiGENE can accurately and rapidly quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA in patient samples
- Pelican Pro DigiGENE can simultaneously detect Influenza A/B/COVID19
- Pelican Pro DigiGENE can simultaneously differentiate Wild Type SARS-CoV-2/Major Variants of SARS-CoV2
