Primerdesign

Primerdesign is a UK-based biotechnology company that designs and sells products for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Primerdesign
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2005
HeadquartersChandler's Ford, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Dr Jim Wicks, Dr Rob Powell and Professor Tom Brown
ParentNovacyt
WebsitePrimerdesign.co.uk

History

Primerdesign was founded in 2005 by Dr Jim Wicks, Dr Rob Powell and Professor Tom Brown within the University of Southampton to focus on PCR and DNA chemistry. The company has grown since then and its products have been used in over 100 countries. The company has a portfolio of over 400 qPCR detection kits and over 9000 research targets.[1]

Swine flu detection kit

During the swine flu pandemic in 2009, Primerdesign developed the world's first swine flu detection kit.[2][3] The kit, which was designed within a fortnight, was designed to give results within two hours.[2] The first shipment of rapid result tests was dispatched to Mexico in April 2009 and is now being used in more than 30 countries.[2]

Horse meat scandal

The company responded to the 2013 meat adulteration scandal by being able to provide qPCR kits to quantitatively measure for horse meat in food.[4] Their kits were used throughout Ireland[5] as well as the UK.[6]

Coronavirus

In January 2020 the company launched a molecular test for SARS-CoV-2.[7][8][9][10] The test was approved as eligible for procurement under the World Health Organization's (WHO) Emergency Use Listing process in April 2020,[11] meaning that the test can be supplied by the United Nations and other procurement agencies supporting the COVID-19 response.[12] In the same month Novacyt announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and the University of Cambridge to support the UK in its COVID-19 national screening programme at a new testing laboratory at the university's Anne McLaren laboratory.[13][14]

Products

Among their product ranges are lines for:

  • Pathogen detection kits
  • House-keeping gene assays
  • Genomic DNA detection kits
  • Real-time PCR reagents
  • geNorm reference gene selection kits
  • Housekeeping gene selection kits
  • Biobank Control cDNA
  • High Resolution Melting analysis kits

Customers

Primerdesign's customers include academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, independent diagnostic laboratories, hospitals, and official government health agencies.

Sponsorship program

In 2006, Primerdesign initiated a sponsorship program for PhD students and provide further assistance to the PCR component of their study.[15]

See also

References
  1. "PrimerDesign". Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  2. Powell, Rob. (31 August 2009) Test Of Skill As UK Firm Wins Swine Flu Race. News.sky.com.
  3. Bunkall, Alistair. (4 May 2009) UK Firm Creates Rapid Swine Flu Test Kit. News.sky.com.
  4. "Avoiding the horsemeat scandal with real-time PCR". www.foodprocessing.com.au.
  5. "Journal" (PDF). www.apajournal.org.uk. 2013.
  6. "Southampton company PrimerDesign help tackle horse meat food scandal – SETsquared Partnership". www.setsquared.co.uk. 19 March 2013.
  7. "Healthcare Company Novacyt Launches New Coronavirus Test". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  8. "Novacyt shares jump 32% on launch of coronavirus test". CNBC. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  9. "Chandlers Ford company Primerdesign launch novel coronavirus test". Southern Daily Echo. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  10. Ralph, Alex. "Novacyt in prime position with coronavirus test". The Times. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  11. "WHO approves Novacyt's coronavirus testing kit". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  12. "WHO lists two COVID-19 tests for emergency use". World Health Organization. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. "Novacyt's Covid-19 diagnostic test gets OK for WHO procurement". London South East. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  14. "Novacyt joins AstraZeneca and GSK in UK effort on COVID-19 testing". The Pharma Letter. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  15. "Student sponsorship : Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction: PCR, QPCR Tutorials : Primerdesign Ltd". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
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