Covid-19 testing: Life science industry responds to concerns

The British In Vitro Diagnostic Association (BIVDA), Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) have released a joint statement on the situation surrounding Covid-19 tests.

It reads: “The urgent global need for the components of testing kits and facilities to carry them out is obviously unprecedented, with every country facing challenges to ensure that supply can meet the huge demand from health services. 

“Our companies are working flat out, 24 hours a day, increasing capacity for essential materials to tackle Covid-19 and providing government and the NHS with additional diagnostics, expertise and facilities so that patients, healthcare workers and other critical workers are prioritised for testing quickly and safely.

“It’s absolutely vital for patients in the UK that we all work together to understand how we can increase testing capacity even further, build on the NHS capability and mitigate any potential shortages that could arise.” 

Industry has urged for a balance to be struck between testing being rolled out at a rapid speed and ensuring testing can be delivered reliably across the UK, as the government comes under increasing pressure to meet testing targets it has set out themselves in recent weeks.

The industry bodies have also urged prioritisation of antigen testing to those who are showing clear symptoms requiring hospitalisation, and to develop testing protocols for healthcare workers and other key workers currently in self-isolation to enable them to return to work more quickly, where appropriate.

Subsequently, they have said attention will need to turn to antibody testing to complement antigen testing; and that effort is directed to support innovators who are working in this field, to enable a secure supply chain of high quality, validated products.