CA-MAWI-DNA-TECHNOLOGIES
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
Ahead of Holiday Season, Visa Identifies Five Transformative Forces Reshaping Global Payment Security20.11.2025 19:50:00 CET | Press release
New Biannual Threats Report Reveals Fundamental Shift in Fraud Operations as Criminals Adopt Industrial-Scale Tactics To celebrate International Fraud Awareness Week, Visa (NYSE: V) today released its Fall 2025 Biannual Threats Report, revealing five forces that are transforming the global payments security landscape. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120412198/en/ The report, produced by Visa's Payment Ecosystem Risk and Control (PERC) team, draws on intelligence from Visa's global network to identify how criminal operations are evolving with unprecedented speed, scale, and sophistication. "The payments ecosystem is experiencing a paradigm shift in how fraud operates," said Paul Fabara, Chief Risk and Client Services Officer at Visa. "Criminals are no longer working as opportunistic individuals-- they're operating like tech startups, building reusable infrastructure and deploying systematic, industrial-scale
Suzano Forms Partnership with Tencent and Ecofuturo Institute at COP30 for AI-Powered Conservation and Nature Education20.11.2025 18:25:00 CET | Press release
New agreement signed at COP30 will see organisations collaborating to use artificial intelligence tools for biodiversity monitoring and digital platforms to boost public engagement in conservation efforts. The world’s largest pulp supplier, Suzano, today announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the multinational technology business Tencent and the Brazilian non-profit Ecofuturo Institute, to pioneer new digital approaches to drive public engagement in conservation. The collaboration will leverage Suzano’s expertise in sustainable forestry, Tencent’s cutting-edge digital technology, and Ecofuturo’s expertise in environmental education, to pilot joint initiatives in both Brazil and China. These include enhancing ecological awareness, accelerating biodiversity solutions, and leveraging digital platforms to foster public engagement in conservation. The partnership will result in a pilot project where advanced AI tools for species recognition developed by Tencent’s
EMVCo Working on How Global Specifications Can Support Agentic Payments20.11.2025 17:38:00 CET | Press release
EMVCo – the technical body that creates and manages EMV® Specifications and programmes that enable seamless and secure card-based payments worldwide – has announced that it is working on how global specifications can support innovation in agentic payment solutions by increasing trust and interoperability across the ecosystem. Agentic commerce is rapidly reshaping the shopping experience by enabling AI agents to act on the consumer’s behalf. This is driving significant momentum for agentic payments, which introduce AI agents as new actors that can initiate transactions with merchants – without requiring direct involvement from the consumer. While agentic payments have the potential to increase convenience and personalisation, they present unique considerations for how transactions are initiated, authenticated and secured. As industry adoption and innovation accelerate, a globally interoperable and scalable approach may be beneficial in realising trusted agentic payments for consumers, m
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin: A Unique Alliance to Propel University Medical Research to the Top of the European Rankings Through AI20.11.2025 15:17:00 CET | Press release
Université Paris-Saclay and Owkin announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential of K Pro Free - Owkin’s AI co-pilot for biology - for use by Paris-Saclay. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120130113/en/ K Pro Free will now be available to the entire Université Paris-Saclay community, and in particular teachers, researchers and doctoral students working in the biomedical sciences. The partnership includes workshops, training sessions and events designed to promote the discovery and adoption of K Pro Free, as well as the co-organization of communication and dissemination initiatives around the use of AI in health. In this way, the partnership will promote user training, but also enrich and continuously improve the co-pilot's models through feedback and use cases from the l’Université Paris-Saclay community. This partnership is part of Université Paris-Saclay’s strategy to integr
Frasca Advances Flight Training Technology with New Visual System Powered by Unreal Engine20.11.2025 15:05:00 CET | Press release
Frasca International, Inc., a FlightSafety International company and leader in flight simulation, today announced the launch of VITAL FVS 100, the next evolution of its visual system technology. Building on the proven TruVision Global platform, VITAL FVS 100 was developed using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and delivers unprecedented realism, scalability, and innovation in pilot training. The Unreal-powered VITAL FVS 100 system introduces major advancements in visual fidelity and training realism, further enhancing the capabilities of Frasca, a leading developer of flight simulators and training devices. The new system includes physically based renderings, advanced lighting effects, and a new volumetric cloud model that creates dynamic, weather-rich environments. Terrain imagery now includes one-meter resolution coverage for the contiguous United States and Hawaii, with expanded global datasets covering European buildings and tree covered regions. Additionally, enhanced particle effects 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