Fujifilm to launch rapid antigen COVID-19 test in Europe

FUJIFILM Europe GmbH has received the CE certificate for its antigen test kit for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and can now launch the product in Europe. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.

The test is based on the company’s proprietary silver amplification immunochromatography method, based on silver amplification technology used in the photo-developing process, that the enterprise has leveraged in rapid diagnostic testing equipment and reagents for influenza and other infectious diseases previously. According to Fujifilm, since 2011, the system has been adopted by several medical institutes in Japan as a high-sensitivity antigen test capable of detecting viruses even when viral load is low at the onset of a disease.

The company said in a statement that the new testing kit can rapidly and sensitively examine the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens in specimens, detecting the virus at an early stage and in view of a relatively low viral load, with results delivered within 10-13 minutes. The rapid antigen test uses nasopharyngeal swab samples and can be performed within the community as well as clinical settings.

Mr Masaharu Fukumoto, Senior Vice President FUJIFILM Europe GmbH Medical Systems Division, commented: “During the pandemic Fujifilm supported the global healthcare community in the complex management of the emergency. It did so through its diagnostic and IT/AI solutions so that COVID-19 patients could be treated with the utmost care and precision. Today we can provide further support for the early detection of COVID-19, through a rapid antigen test that can provide a highly sensitive result for early detection. We used our proprietary silver amplification immunochromatographic method, that amplifies signal particles more than 100 times and increases the sensitivity and has the potential to enhance detection in more asymptomatic patients carrying the COVID-19 virus an at an early stage.”