brand logo

Jayewardenepura Uni wins WHO grant for antigen detection

11 Jul 2021

The University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s proposal has been selected as one of the five recipients of World Health Organisation (WHO) grants awarded for antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests for Covid-19. Sri Jayewardenepura University Allergy, Immunology, and Cell Biology Unit (AICBU) Director Dr. Chandima Jeewandara said the WHO designed a protocol for monitored implementation of SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT, and called for proposals in December 2020. Therefore, the AICBU, under the leadership of Dr. Jeewandara and Prof. Neelika Malavige submitted an application with the partnership of the Ministry of Health as a collaborator. “After a competitive application process, AICBU secured funding for the Sri Lankan protocol, becoming one of the five countries selected by WHO under this scheme,” Dr. Jeewandara said. According to Dr. Jeewandara, WHO will fund a maximum of $ 199,999, and will additionally provide up to 200,000 WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL)-approved lateral flow antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for Sri Lanka. The proposed conditions and settings for Ag-RDT use are aligned with WHO interim guidance on the use of antigen detection for Covid-19 using rapid immunoassays. “We will not be using the full capacity of Ag-RDTs for our testing, so our plan is to deliver the rest to the medical supply division,“ Dr. Jeewandara noted. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a need to rapidly scale-up testing services and provide diagnostics to implement test-trace-isolate strategies, which are essential to effectively treat and care for patients, and to control the spread of the virus. Hundreds of diagnostic products are now available on the market, targeting detection of viral RNA, viral antigens, and host antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Tests vary in their complexity and speed, and countries have faced challenges in selection and effective deployment of the reference standard, nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT). Services for SARS-CoV-2 NAAT testing have often been unavailable, or backlogged for several days, precluding the clinical utility of the results. Lateral flow antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) which are easy to perform and provide results within 15-30 minutes have recently been commercialised, and have the potential to fill at least a portion of the “testing gap”. Under certain conditions, Ag-RDTs that meet minimum performance requirements are recommended for use, and some have WHO EUL authorisation. These simple-to-use tests offer the possibility of rapid case detection, especially of the most infectious patients, at or near the point of care.  


More News..