Media Release
28 June 2021
Unilabs launches new Covid-19 test to identify the Delta variant, supporting health authorities with data-driven pandemic response
Geneva, 29 June 2021: Unilabs, the leading European diagnostic services provider, has created a new PCR test that can specifically identify the new, more infectious Delta variant, and is working with health authorities to optimise public health measures accordingly.
“With the Delta variant spreading fast, and well on its way to becoming the dominant strain of Covid-19 in many parts of Europe, we put our teams to work and came up with a test that can reliably identify this variant,” said Timóteo Guimarães, who runs Unilabs' Covid-19 business unit. “We are using the same techniques we created to detect the Kent variant, and we expect to quickly track any future variants, too.”
In countries like Portugal, France, Switzerland, Sweden Spain, the UK, and the UAE, data from Unilabs’ testing efforts is being used to track the spread of this new variant, and identify new variants – helping health authorities put in place targeted measures to contain the virus. A data-driven approach will result in “smarter” lockdowns, save lives, and minimise the economic fall-out.
Unilabs offers PCR testing, the “gold standard” of Covid-19 tests, as well as antigen and serology tests. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Unilabs has performed more than 12 million Covid-19 tests around the world.
With a network of labs and experts across 16 countries, Unilabs is working with companies, health authorities, and governments to design effective testing strategies, and has also teamed up with airlines to help test international travellers.
Unilabs recently signed an agreement to incorporate Unilabs’ worldwide Covid-19 testing network into IATA Travel Pass, the travel app of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Reliable testing is particularly vital in the context of mass vaccinations, the lifting of restrictions, and the resulting uptick in mobility.
Alistair Hammond, Director of Communications
e: Alistair.Hammond@unilabs.com
t: +44 771 773 0441
Unilabs is one of Europe’s largest diagnostics companies, offering a complete range of laboratory, pathology, and imaging services to patients all around the world.
With 250 labs, 150 imaging centres, and more than 1,500 collection centres across 16 countries, Unilabs’ 12,000-plus people save lives every day.
Unilabs is fully engaged in the fight against Covid-19 – investing heavily in technology, equipment, and people to deliver fast, reliable Covid-19 tests. Using dedicated new labs in Portugal, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the UAE, Unilabs’ capacity is more than 700,000 Covid-19 tests per week – and rising.