SourceBio International plc (LON:SBI), a laboratory services provider, has said it is expanding its presence in the coronavirus (COVID-19) testing market.
The group has announced a strategic commercial partnership with Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a next-generation DNA/RNA sequencing technology company, to offer a commercially available COVID-19 testing solution to corporate customers at scale. The test will also be offered to consumers.
Oxford Nanopore will provide its LamPORE testing kits and SourceBio will provide the lab facilities.
The COVID-19 testing service using LamPORE will be offered as an additional service by SourceBio to complement its existing COVID-19 PCR Testing services that are currently used by a range of customers.
“The commercial relationship that we have developed with Oxford Nanopore is a valuable partnership that delivers essential testing technology and a high-quality service offering at a crucial time in the worldwide effort to combat and manage the further spread of coronavirus,” said Jay LeCoque, the executive chairman of SourceBio in a statement.
“This alliance effectively creates a 'total solutions approach' for both companies' offerings by combining Oxford Nanopore's leading LamPORE COVID-19 test with our UKAS accredited laboratory services. This combination allows both companies to provide clients with a high-quality, highly scalable and highly professional product and a fully accredited laboratory services capability.
"The UK Government has minimum standards for private sector providers of COVID-19 testing and we are delighted to have been awarded full UKAS ISO15189 status for our COVID testing. Very few commercial institutions have received this standard and it is a mandatory requirement from next summer 2021. This underscores the high standard of our accredited testing services and provides us with a significant advantage in the market,” LeCoque said.
Gordon Sanghera, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, said the importance of safeguarding workforces, customers, friends and family will remain a priority for many businesses as the UK rolls out its vaccine programme.