ender diagnostics, a Swiss company specialising in the development of rapid molecular biological tests, has announced a collaboration with Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss), a subsidiary of Lufthansa AG, to test all long-haul cabin crew members for SARS-CoV-2.

 

Constant rapid and flexible testing is the key to controlling the coronavirus pandemic. Testing Swiss long-haul crew members prior to departure working with ender diagnostics will help to further improve detection of Covid-19 infection, increasing the safety and confidence of people travelling.

 

Martin Knuchel, Head of Crisis, Emergency & Business Continuity Management Lufthansa Group Airlines and Pandemic Coordinator, commented: “The safety and confidence of our passengers and employees is paramount for Swiss. The decision to adopt the fast, innovative and easy-to-use testing solutions developed by ender diagnostics further underlines our absolute commitment to make air travel as safe as possible.”

 

ender diagnostics specialises in isothermal PCR-based test kits for laboratory and on-site diagnosis. It has launched two CE-marked tests in Europe: ender LAB in June and ender MASS in August 2020. The ender LAB test allows laboratories to directly detect SARS-CoV-2 on standard real-time PCR devices within 30 minutes of extraction of the viral RNA. 

 

This is significantly faster than commercially available PCR tests, which take several hours. ender MASS offers additional benefits by enabling detection in a simplified process, considerably reducing the workload for medical professionals and laboratories. It is designed to enable on-site and pop-up labs to operate rapid testing in diverse settings, including travel-related locations such as airports and cruise ships.

 

Hans-Peter Frank, Chief Business Officer of ender diagnostics, said: “With simplified workflows and analysis, our products can process up to eight times as many tests as conventional PCR test over the same period. This significantly increases both test capacity and flexibility in laboratories and is a promising step towards mass screening. We are pleased to be able to support Swiss in their efforts to protect their passengers and employees.” -- Tradearabia News Service