Dear O'Dear , Now Sona's Covid -19 Saliva test also bites the dust, We are disappointed that our COVID-19 test failed to demonstrate sufficient ability to detect the virus in saliva in clinical samples to warrant further investigation through this trial.
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2021) - Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) (OTCQB: SNANF) (the "Company" or "Sona") a developer of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests announces that it is discontinuing its previously announced clinical trial of its COVID-19 rapid, antigen saliva test after a review of the interim results data, due to inadequate test sensitivity with clinical saliva samples and challenges with patient recruitment and enrollment into the study, as local prevalence of the virus has diminished significantly.
The study was designed to evaluate the ability to detect the COVID-19 virus in saliva samples using a novel collection device and a rapid antigen test cassette. The Company plans to focus its research strategy on continuing with its other rapid test development programs and research on its proprietary gold nanorod production technology.
Clinical trial principal investigator, Dr. David Jacobs of Humber River Hospital, comments "Unfortunately, as is often the case with prototypes, the early laboratory results did not translate well into the clinical environment. While there are many possible reasons for this discrepancy, the favored hypotheses are that either there is insufficient viral concentration in saliva, or there is an interfering substance in the saliva."
"We are disappointed that our COVID-19 test failed to demonstrate sufficient ability to detect the virus in saliva in clinical samples to warrant further investigation through this trial, but we are grateful to our collaborators at Humber River Hospital and to the volunteers in the trial," said David Regan, CEO, Sona Nanotech. "We are surprised that our clinical trial did not show a corresponding level of sensitivity to our laboratory studies which showed that our saliva test was able to detect gamma irradiated COVID-19 virus at clinically relevant levels. We were attempting to blaze a new and challenging trail in adding a less invasive, saliva-based rapid test to the arsenal of tests being used to detect the virus, something for which no other company has achieved an FDA EUA or Health Canada approval. We look forward to continuing further bold pursuits in new applications that leverage both our proprietary gold nanorod technology and the considerable base of experience afforded to us by our COVID-19 test development program."
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