Intelligent Fingerprinting’s saliva-based COVID-19 test now CE marked and available for sale

Intelligent Fingerprinting’s simple saliva-based COVID-19 test now CE marked and available for sale

• Saliva-based approach revolutionises COVID-19 lateral flow testing, with an easier test especially suitable for vulnerable and younger people
• Ready to support COVID-19 testing in schools, workplaces, universities, care homes, healthcare and public events
• Cambridge, UK, manufacturing facility set to produce four million tests per month

25th October 2021 – Intelligent Fingerprinting has announced that its saliva-based COVID-19 test now carries CE marking and is available for sale. The new VSS-GP COVID-19 Saliva Test uses a simple swab to collect saliva from just inside the cheek, providing a much easier alternative to current throat and nose tests that can cause gagging, sneezing or distress during sample collection.

Easier, more comfortable COVID-19 testing
Intelligent Fingerprinting’s reliable and easy-to-use saliva-based lateral flow test supports frequent COVID-19 testing across a range of applications, including schools, workplaces, public events such as sports or concerts, care homes, healthcare, airports and prisons. Find out how Intelligent Fingerprinting’s saliva-based test makes COVID-19 testing much easier for people by watching this short video.

Keeping plastic usage to a minimum
The Intelligent Fingerprinting VSS-GP COVID-19 test strip has been carefully designed to use minimal plastic. It has none of the plastic housing usually associated with lateral flow tests, helping to significantly reduce its environmental impact. The test strip is around 95% lighter than traditional lateral flow devices, contributing significantly to the reduction of the environmental impact of packaging and transportation.

Intelligent Fingerprinting’s Executive Chairman, Philip Hand explains: “Regular COVID-19 testing will continue to be part of our everyday lives for the foreseeable future, so it’s essential that we remove potential barriers to testing and make the whole process as simple and comfortable as possible. Our saliva-based test directly addresses this challenge, combining much simpler sample collection with high levels of accuracy. I’m delighted that our test is now CE marked, and we anticipate strong demand for saliva-based testing from markets around the world.

“We have already scaled up production capacity at our Cambridge, UK, manufacturing facility utilising existing equipment, have ISO 13485 quality control in place and, given initial demand and distributor agreements, we will be able to produce our new saliva-based COVID-19 tests at a rate of four million a month by the end of 2021. We also anticipate working with a range of distribution partners to make this test available across multiple markets,” he added.

Accurate results
Clinical precision testing of Intelligent Fingerprinting’s VSS-GP lateral flow saliva test has resulted in 100% sensitivity and specificity (n = 400 results) using RT-PCR verified samples containing SARS-CoV-2 virus samples (lowest viral titre Ct 28.5). CE marking has been achieved under the In Vitro Diagnostics Directive. The saliva-based test has been developed in the UK by Cambridge-based Intelligent Fingerprinting, developers and manufacturers of the world’s first and only fingerprint sweat drug test. The new COVID-19 test takes advantage of the company’s proven lateral flow technology expertise.

How it works
A swab is used to collect the saliva sample from the inside of the lower cheek, which is then mixed with a reagent buffer that has been pre-added to the collection tube in order to release the virus into the solution. The screening test is performed by inserting the tip of the VSS-GP test strip into the sample, providing a positive or negative result at 20 minutes. No instrumentation is required. The test uses gold immunonanoparticle technology to enable the visual detection of bound antigen via a control line and a red line on the test strip when a saliva sample is positive for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen.

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For media information contact Cheryl Billson at Comma
Email: cheryl.billson@commacomms.com  Tel: +44 (0)7791 720460

About Intelligent Fingerprinting:
Intelligent Fingerprinting is a leading provider of fast and cost-effective point-of-care diagnostic solutions – including a portable Drug Screening System that works by analysing fingerprint sweat.  The company has distributors across the globe, including the USA. Founded in 2007, Intelligent Fingerprinting is a spin-out company from the University of East Anglia (UEA).  The company is based in Cambridge, England and employs around 40 people. www.intelligentfingerprinting.com  Twitter @iFingerprinting