CA-MAWI-DNA-TECHNOLOGIES
25.1.2021 15:02:12 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Mawi DNA Technologies’ iSWAB-Microbiome-EL sample collection technology enables BioTech Africa to implement and launch a new ultra-high throughput COVID-19 testing program. This breakthrough, in conjunction with the ProbeSure™ COVID-19 One Step RT-PCR Kit from 3CR Bioscience, is designed to scale up to a capacity of 200,000 tests per day.
“We are extremely proud and humbled to be part of South Africa’s fight against COVID-19 through BioTech Africa’s mass testing efforts,” said Dr. Bassam El-Fahmawi, President and CTO, Mawi DNA Technologies.
In addition, Dr. Jenny Leslie, COO of BioTech Africa, worked closely with Scilutions Labware and Hook Diagnostics to identify the best products and supplier partners who could provide reagents to streamline the testing workflow, but also scale to the projected numbers with minimal supply chain disruption.
“For the sample collection step, Mawi DNA Technologies’ iSWAB-Microbiome-EL (‘Extractionless’) product was chosen for its multiple benefits. This includes enabling direct PCR by removing the RNA extraction step along with extended room temperature stabilization of viral RNA. iSWAB technology also enables simple and efficient non-invasive self-collection, a key component of BioTech Africa’s testing strategy to encourage widespread compliance,” said Dr. Leslie. She added, “When used in tandem with the 3CR Bioscience ProbeSure™ kit, we can provide high throughput testing and faster sample-to-result turnaround time, while significantly reducing reagents, plastics and testing workflow footprint.”
“iSWAB room temperature sample collection and stabilization technology has been well validated in the field with millions of samples tested thus far,” said Dr. Bassam El-Fahmawi. He added that Mawi DNA was pleased to work with Scilutions Labware and Hook Diagnostics to deploy its products on a global scale to help alleviate the socioeconomic impact that COVID-19 brought on the world.
Hook Diagnostics CEO Simon Kratzat added, “Our mission at Hook Diagnostics is to enable affordable population scale testing. We are honored to make this a reality for BioTech Africa together with Mawi DNA, 3CR and Scilutions.”
About Mawi DNA Technologies
Mawi DNA Technologies has developed and commercialized the iSWAB technology, an innovative system for collection of biosamples. Its flagship product iSWAB-DNA has gained significant market traction due to its ability to be used for animals and all human population segments from infants to the elderly, with robust DNA yield and low bacterial DNA content. iSWAB-Microbiome has gained worldwide acceptance as a superior collection technology for COVID-19 samples. Mawi DNA has expanded its offerings to include collection technologies for intact cells and whole blood. For more information, visit http://www.mawidna.com .
About BioTech Africa
BioTech Africa specializes in recombinant protein production and bioprocessing. Driven by the global requirement for improved in vitro diagnostics, its current range of highly purified recombinant proteins are used in the manufacture of diagnostic test kits for point of care rapid diagnostics and research institutions. BioTech Africa offers a variety of protein expression platforms along with a host of other protein services, including protein refolding and structural biology analysis. For more information, visit http://www.biotechafrica.com .
About Scilutions Labware
Scilutions is an innovative manufacturer of scientific products. Through collaboration with the academic, industrial and scientific communities, its manufacturing capabilities are aligned to ensure that the company is optimized to support critical biomedical operations. For more information, visit http://www.scilutionslabware.com .
About 3CR Bioscience
3CR Bioscience is a world-leading manufacturer of innovative PCR-based reagents. Primary products, PACE™ and ProbeSure™, are used in hundreds of institutions worldwide, from small academic labs to large multinational companies. 3CR has developed the ProbeSure™ COVID-19 One Step RT-PCR Kit which combines high sensitivity and specificity with low cost and has been designed for use in real-time or high-throughput endpoint processes. For more information visit https://3crbio.com/ .
About Hook Diagnostics
Hook Diagnostics is committed to making worldwide population-scale testing faster and more affordable using only the most high quality and cutting edge tools available. For more information, visit http://www.hookdx.com .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210125005262/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Visa Opens the Door to AI-Driven Shopping for Businesses Worldwide8.4.2026 18:00:00 CEST | Press release
Part of the Visa Intelligent Commerce portfolio, Intelligent Commerce Connect will enable more ways for agents to pay and merchants to accept agentic transactions in a single integrationCurrently in pilot with select partners including Aldar, AWS, Diddo, Highnote, Mesh, Payabli, Sumvin, and rolling out to more partners this year Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today unveiled Intelligent Commerce Connect, a new solution that makes it easier for businesses to connect to and participate in AI-powered commerce. Intelligent Commerce Connect acts as a network, protocol, and token vault-agnostic ‘on ramp’ to agentic commerce for agent builders, merchants, and enablers. As consumers increasingly rely on AI agents to make purchases, businesses – whether they are building agents, selling to them, or processing transactions – need a simple way to get started. Intelligent Commerce Connect, part of the Visa Intelligent Commerce portfolio, meets that need. Through a single integration via the Visa Acceptance Pl
Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield Complete the Acquisition of Air Lease Corporation8.4.2026 15:13:00 CEST | Press release
Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo-managed funds (“Apollo”) and Brookfield today announced that they have completed the previously announced acquisition of Air Lease Corporation (“Air Lease”) and have renamed the business Sumisho Air Lease Corporation (“Sumisho Air Lease”). This transformational transaction improves the financial position of the business with long term support and aviation expertise from co-investors Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield. Sumisho Air Lease’s strong foundation as an established aircraft lessor, supported by SMBC Aviation Capital’s industry‑leading capabilities as servicer, creates a platform with the scale and financial strength needed to meet the fast‑changing and increasingly complex requirements of airline customers. Sumisho Air Lease will also benefit from the deep expertise and long-standing commitment that both Sumitomo Corporation and SMBC Aviation Capital bring to the global aviation leasing sector.
Sitetracker Launches Scout, an Agentic AI Platform Purpose-Built for Critical Infrastructure8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Sitetracker, the leading Asset Lifecycle Management platform for critical infrastructure, today announced the launch of Scout, its new Agentic AI platform designed to help infrastructure owners, operators, and contractors gain deep insights and drive automation within their operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260408923336/en/ Scout, ready for real work As your AI analyst and agent, Scout is ready to work on day 1. Scout provides clarity when decisions are forming and momentum when action is required. It surfaces risk, synthesizes information, and helps accelerate execution by connecting data and driving action. Scout creates operational intelligence and turns it into action all in a secure environment that protects data sovereignty. “Our customers are looking to create compounding competitive advantages,” said Giuseppe Incitti, Chief Executive Officer of Sitetracker. “Scout delivers by providing easy t
Westinghouse Hosts Annual VVER Fuel Forum with Customers8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Westinghouse currently has fuel supply contracts with all the European VVER operators Westinghouse and MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) recently co-hosted the VVER Fuel Forum in Budapest to share insights and plans for the continued deployment of VVER-1000 and VVER-440 fuel in operating reactors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260408646373/en/ Participants to the VVER Fuel Forum Péter János Horváth, CEO of MVM Paks, welcomed all the participants, highlighting that Hungary is ending two decades of single supplier fuel dependency thanks to the agreement recently signed with Westinghouse to supply the VVER-440 NOVA E-6 fuel design. Six customers presented the progress made and positive outcomes achieved in the past years with the introduction of Westinghouse fuel into mixed cores with resident fuel in their reactors: Energoatom has extensive experience with Westinghouse VVER-440 and VVER-1000 fuel, currently u
Virica Biotech and FUJIFILM Biosciences Collaborate Under the Canada–Japan Co‑Innovation Program to Advance AAV Production Enhancers8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Efficient production of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors at scale for in vivo gene therapies remains a key bottleneck for broad patient access and sustainable manufacturing costs.Virica and FUJIFILM Biosciences will co-develop an off-the-shelf enhancer–media solution to boost AAV yields and process robustness in FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD® HEK293 system. Virica Biotech (“Virica”), a cell enhancer company specializing in Viral Sensitizers (VSE™) for viral vector manufacturing, today announced it is receiving advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), under the Canada–Japan Corporate Co-Innovation Program for a collaboration with FUJIFILM Biosciences. The collaboration will focus on optimizing a VSE™ formulation for FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 media to support academic and commercial AAV producers globally. AAV vectors are a cornerstone of in vivo gene delivery for gene therapies, but they re
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom