LGC’s COVID-19 response
LGC, an international leader in the life sciences tools sector, is playing an active role in the global response to COVID-19.
Tim Robinson, CEO, LGC said, “In today’s crisis, LGC’s core purpose of Science for a Safer World could not be more relevant and important. The situation surrounding COVID-19 is fast moving and, due to complexity and demand, is stretching supply chains for critical components. We are involved in many aspects of the global response, from providing the chemistry that goes into testing kits and supplying quality control materials to IVD companies, clinical laboratories and pharmaceutical manufacturers, to supporting the broader research effort. We are doing everything we can to accelerate delivery and scale our capacity and output in order to deliver these critical elements and help meet our customers’ testing demands.”
Underpinned by its world-leading measurement science, LGC’s COVID-19 response includes provision of critical test components, quality control solutions and contribution to international standards and research.
Provision of critical components to support the global testing effort
LGC provides reagents and other components for COVID-19 test kits in active use in labs around the world as well as those in development. LGC is working with major IVD companies, clinical laboratories, governments and regulatory agencies globally to help drive testing volumes and meet associated quality control requirements.
These include the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). LGC is also actively supporting the UK government’s testing strategy for the ongoing COVID crisis.
LGC was one of the first companies to support the initial US public health response to COVID-19. It partnered with the CDC to provide oligonucleotides, which are key reagents, termed “probes and primers”, used to support the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus Real-Time PCR Diagnostic Panel. This was the first test granted emergency use authorisation by the FDA. As part of the manufacturing process, LGC undergoes a stringent product release procedure where the CDC qualifies each lot of oligonucleotides for its test.
LGC also supplies a range of PCR-based products to support COVID-19 testing: high throughput detection instruments, master mix, reverse transcriptase, and nucleic acid extraction reagents.
Provision of quality control solutions to establish efficacy and accuracy
LGC is a critical supplier of controls, reference materials and proficiency testing to IVD companies, clinical laboratories, governments and regulators around the world. These include the AccuPlex™ SARS-CoV-2 Verification Panel and Reference Material Kit, which is designed to verify assays and ongoing performance during routine testing. LGC also offers Proficiency Testing schemes for COVID-19 testing to ensure that laboratories’ application of methods and subsequent results are reliable and accurate.
Contribution to international standards and research
As part of its role as a UK National Measurement Laboratory, LGC is working with the global metrology community in the standardisation of COVID-19 test methods. LGC’s specialist products and services are also being delivered to industry, universities and other research institutes to help in the development of better diagnostics and treatments for the disease.