SourceBio International plc
(“SourceBio”, the “Company” or the “Group”)
COVID-19 mobile testing labs management contract
SourceBio to support roll-out of mobile units containing Oxford Nanopore’s LamPORE test
Mobile labs to meet demand for decentralised community testing as part of the pandemic response
SourceBio International plc (AIM: SBI), the international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products, announces that it has entered into an agreement with Mitie Security Limited (“Mitie”) to manage the delivery of community based COVID-19 testing services through mobile testing units.
SourceBio will manage the delivery of the mobile COVID-19 testing laboratory service currently being deployed in a Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) pilot scheme. SourceBio will oversee all laboratory operations and processes and will have responsibility for all clinical governance, quality assurance, staff training, sample processing and information management.
Currently four mobile testing laboratories using Oxford Nanopore’s LamPORE tests for COVID-19 have been deployed in the pilot which has been launched to support the Governments community-based testing efforts and ensure that COVID-19 testing is available for surge or increased infectious status within a specified region.
SourceBio will manage the mobile testing service on behalf of Mitie for the remainder of the pilot and is working towards continued involvement in a potential UK-wide programme.
Larger mobile testing units can process in excess of 1,500 samples a day, with 1,000 tests a day targeted for smaller vehicles. Patient swab samples are processed onboard with results provided within 24 hours. Oxford Nanopore’s LamPORE test has been shown to be highly accurate for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. A study carried out by teams across the UK on over 23,000 samples have demonstrated gold-standard accuracy of the LamPORE test, showing >99.5% sensitivity and specificity, making LamPORE highly effect for testing symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.
SourceBio has worked closely with the DHSC providing COVID-19 antigen RT-PCR testing services using the Company’s laboratory facility. SourceBio has processed approaching 1,000,000 COVID-19 antigen RT-PCR tests for the DHSC and the NHS, Private Hospital Groups and Commercial customers since first offering its service in May 2020.
Jay LeCoque, Executive Chairman, commented: “We are very proud to support the UK’s national testing effort to bring gold standard testing to the local communities as part of the effort to get the nation back to work. The need for localised testing and monitoring of infections is critical as the vaccine program accelerates. This project also highlights our continued work with the DHSC on multiple fronts as they work to manage the pandemic as it evolves.”
Contacts:
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SourceBio International plc |
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| Jay LeCoque, Executive Chairman |
Via Walbrook PR |
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| Tony Ratcliffe, Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Liberum (Nominated Adviser and Broker) |
Tel: 020 3100 2000 |
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| Bidhi Bhoma | ||
| Euan Brown | ||
| William Hall | ||
| Walbrook PR Limited |
Tel: 020 7933 8780 or sourcebio@walbrookpr.com |
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| Paul McManus / Sam Allen |
Mob: 07980 541 893 / 07748 651 727 |
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About SourceBio International plc www.sourcebiointernational.com
SourceBio is a leading international provider of integrated state-of-the-art laboratory services and products clients in the healthcare, clinical, life science research and biopharma industries, with a focus on improving patient diagnosis, management and care. Group revenues are derived from four core businesses areas:
- Healthcare Diagnostics – histopathology and clinical diagnostic services for the NHS and private healthcare across the UK and Ireland.
- Genomics – DNA sequencing services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academia, contract research organisations (CROs) and other research groups in the UK, Europe and North America.
- Stability Storage – shelf-life testing services and equipment for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract manufacturers and analytical testing companies from around the world but primarily in the UK, Ireland and the USA; and
- Infectious Disease Testing – since May 2020, the Group has provided COVID-19 Antigen RT-PCR testing services. These services passed all of the auditing requirements of the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in April 2020. It is intended that this offering will potentially provide a broad range of infectious disease testing across the NHS, private healthcare and commercial sectors in the future.
More details on Group operations can be found here: www.sourcebioscience.com
SourceBio International plc (SBI.L) is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
