THE DIASORIN ANALYTE SPECIFIC REAGENT (ASR*) IS:
- A PRIMER PAIR FOR AMPLIFICATION OF THE B17R/B18R GENE OF THE MONKEYPOX VIRUS
- DESIGNED FOR USE IN LABORATORY DEVELOPED TESTS ON PCR INSTRUMENTS
Saluggia, Italy - DiaSorin (FTSE MIB: DIA) announces its release of an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR) primer pair that detects the B17R/B18R gene of the monkeypox virus, the orthopoxvirus responsible for the ongoing 2022 global public health emergency.
The ASR can be used by high-complexity clinical laboratories to develop and validate assays to detect monkeypox virus DNA for diagnostic purposes as well as by non-clinical laboratories to develop and validate tests for research, forensic and other non-clinical purposes.
Since the first confirmed monkeypox case in May 2022, positive diagnoses have globally risen to over 76,000 in 109 countries, including 28,300 confirmed cases in the US. This recent outbreak presents with atypical symptoms that result in frequent misdiagnosis, which poses a challenge for healthcare providers. In many cases, the typical lesions associated with standard infection do not occur and this has contributed to the rapid spread across Europe and North America in high-risk populations.
Today, there is a need for monkeypox specific testing in the clinical laboratory setting as the lack of molecular assays can present a challenge when controlling public health outbreaks. DiaSorin’s new primer pair offers clinical laboratories the flexibility to develop their own highly specific monkeypox diagnostic test to manage their regional testing needs.
“We are proud to offer this much needed commercially available molecular ASR targeting monkeypox virus,” said Angelo Rago, President of Luminex. “DiaSorin strives to be a leader in Specialty Diagnostics including being at the forefront of combating emerging diseases.”
