Ann: AnteoTech Signs Australian Distribution Agreement for EuGeni, page-190

Sorry for the copy / paste, but thought people might want to read the article I just saw in AFR.

Looks like we’re getting some traction and let’s hope the results from the trial highlight further highlight the need for rapid testing across the country and end up in front of the right people…

AFR Article:

Data from a trial of rapid COVID-19 testing at an aged care facility in Sydney’s south-west is being watched closely by the federal and NSW governments because it is one of the first major rollouts of a technology used widely overseas.

The operators of Whiddon Easton Park campus in Glenfield – home to about 500 aged care residents and 800 staff – launched the trial to help combat the growing delta strain outbreak.

As many as 400 tests are being completed each day, with staff waiting 10 minutes for results before entering the facility. The CareStart COVID-19 Antigen rapid test uses a shallow nasal swab, reducing discomfort for staff undergoing daily testing.

Melbourne-based diagnostics firm Pantonic Health is behind the testing kits, used previously at the Howard Springs quarantine facility. Approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, the test’s accuracy is above 90 per cent.

Whiddon chief executive Chris Mamarelis said results from the trial would be shared with federal and state health authorities, with the testing helping to protect vulnerable residents and their families in some of the hardest hit suburbs of Sydney.

“We found ourselves at the epicentre of the current outbreak,” he told The Australian Financial Review.

“The level of risk had gone through the roof. We started to explore other ways to protect our home and our residents from the virus.”

Between 50 and 60 per cent of Whiddon’s staff have had COVID-19 vaccines.

Similar rapid testing products are used widely in countries such as the US, Singapore and Germany, with pharmacies and other locations distributing them free in the United Kingdom.

Emergency response expert Ian Norton provided advice to the trial, including on testing protocols, staff training, and set-up outside testing stations. Dr Norton advised the health authorities and the Victoria Aged Care Response Centre during the deadly second COVID-19 wave last year.

Mr Mamarelis said staff going into the facility had confidence they were free of the virus and wouldn’t put elderly people at risk.

“Our due diligence on rapid antigen testing was based on science and data and expert advice. I haven’t seen anything at all that contradicts the science that speaks to the effectiveness of the tests,” he said.

“Given the accuracy of the results and the frequency of the tests, it is giving us peace of mind for residents, for families and employees.

“We’re seeing it improve morale and roster compliance as well. People feel safer and happier to come to work because of what we’re doing.”

The TGA said this week some rapid COVID-19 testing kits were too unreliable to be approved for the Australian market, despite being used in their millions in the United States.

It said rapid antigen tests, which have been approved for use only by health professionals in Australia, helped to detect the virus in the acute phases of symptomatic patients but were not highly accurate.

Mr Mamarelis expects rapid tests will be widely used in Australian workplaces as part of the nation’s reopening from the COVID-19 crisis.

“We want to take a leadership position in the industry and see more of this happen. We’re an industry under threat from COVID and we need every tool that we can employ to keep people safe.”