This week the Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Dr. Margarete Schramböck accompanied by Managing Director of the FFG Dr. Henrietta Egerth visited Lexogen’s headquarters in Vienna to inform about the progress of the development of the novel SARS-CoV-2 test for mass screening. Dr. Schramböck attended the presentation and demonstration of the workflow of the test method, and had a guided tour through the Lexogen facilities.
The photo shows (left to right) Dr. Margarete Schramböck (Minister), Mira Schaupper (Lexogen), Dr. Torsten Reda (Lexogen), and Dr. Henrietta Egerth (GF FFG). Credit: BMDW/Hartberger
Lexogen received a grant from Austria Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as a part of the Corona Emergency Call program earlier this year.
Lexogen’s new test is based on a next-generation sequencing read out and enables parallel testing of tens of thousands of samples reaching ultimately capacities of 36,000 tests per lab and day.
The verified test method is currently in its validation stage. The plan is to finish the validation by the end of September 2020 and start in parallel the production.
The Lexogen SARS-CoV-2 test will increase current screening capacities, so that, for example, schools, critical infrastructure like hospitals, public services, and companies can be frequently screened to identify infection clusters for breaking infection chains at the very beginning. The test method requires fewer reagents and consumables and labor.
Learn more (German only) about Dr. Margarete Schramböck‘s visit at Lexogen in the FFG and Austrian Press Agency (APA) news articles, and the report by Puls4.
