On November 24th, 2021, in South Africa, the new B.1.1.529 variant of SARS-CoV-2, designated omicron by WHO, was first reported. The initial reports indicate it may spread easier than other variants, and WHO has warned that it poses a very high global risk as Omicron has a large number of mutations across its viral genome. TransGen is very concerned about Omicron and validated the impact on the performance of our product at once.
TransGen has confirmed that the performance of our SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Detection Kit (DV101) for Omicron is consistent with previously identified variants including Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, and others. In response to Omicron, TransGen Biotech’s bioinformatics experts have carried out an emergent analysis of the mutation sites of the variant by alignment with the primers’ annealing sites designed in the SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Detection Kit (Multiplex Real Time RT-PCR, DV101). The results showed that the product can detect Omicron without escape or off-target effect.
TransGen Biotech has always been keeping an eye on the dynamics of the global pandemic of COVID-19 since its outbreak. So far, TransGen’s full-scenario solution has served many countries and regions. It is one of the leading nucleic acid assay solutions that have been used by numerous countries worldwide for its capability to accurately detect popular SARS-CoV-2 variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Lambda and Omicron.
