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SeqOnce Biosciences Announces AzureSeq RT-qPCR Assay to Detect SARS-CoV-2 E484K Variant of Concern
March 10, 2021 GMT
(PRNewsfoto/SeqOnce Biosciences, Inc.)
PASADENA, Calif., March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ SeqOnce Biosciences, Inc., announced today the launch of its new AzureSeq One-Step Universal RT-qPCR kit for the detection of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 E484K variant. The AzureSeq One-Step Universal SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR E484K kit uses a single-tube reaction targeting the N1 nucleocapsid gene, both alleles of S gene E484K (G23012A), and includes RNaseP as a control. The assay uses common qPCR instruments with detection channels of FAM, HEX, Cy5, and ROX. Using RT-qPCR to detect the SARS-CoV-2 E484K variant is faster and allows far more samples to be screened, compared to sequencing.
Climate change may have driven the emergence of SARS-CoV-2
A new study has provided evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 which is the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
Green-house gas emissions over the last century have led to making southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronavirus by creating a forest habitat that is favored by bats. The study published in the journal called Science of the Total Environment serves as the first instance of the mechanism by which climate change could have contributed to the emergence of the pandemic-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2. The study shows that there have been large-scale changes over the past century in the type of vegetation present in the southern Chinese Yunnan province and its adjacent regions like Myanmar and Laos. The change in vegetation has led to climatic changes such as increased temperature, sunlight, and atmospheric carbon dioxide which further
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AbCellera-Discovered Bamlanivimab Together with Etesevimab Reduced Hospitalizations and Prevented Death in Phase 3 Trial for Early COVID-19
March 10, 2021 GMT
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (BUSINESS WIRE) Mar 10, 2021
AbCellera (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced that bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) 700 mg, a human antibody discovered by AbCellera and developed with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), and etesevimab 1400 mg (LY-CoV16) together reduced COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths by 87% in high-risk patients recently diagnosed with COVID-19. These results mark the second positive Phase 3 trial readout for bamlanivimab and etesevimab together, adding to the growing safety and efficacy data that has resulted in the following key milestones accelerating the adoption of the antibody therapy globally:
Researchers have found a new SARS-CoV-2 variant in California, USA. This variant is more transmissible than circulating strains but slightly less transmissible than the new N501Y variant and moderately resistant to antibodies in convalescent sera and mRNA vaccines.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Santa Fe Institute in the US used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) data from a surveillance testing program on a large university campus to estimate how fast the new variant spreads. The team used the data to provide local situational information on the COVID-19 pandemic.