Thermo Fisher Scientific, a world leader in serving science, has announced an update to its Applied Biosystems TaqMan SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Panel to enable direct detection of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. The panel is designed with a customizable menu of real-PCR genotyping assays to accurately identify known SARS-COV-2 variants in just over an hour.
With the omicron variant on the horizon, diagnostic companies are racing to determine whether the coronavirus’ latest mutations will hinder the performance of their screening tests. Companies including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Qiagen and Co-Diagnostics have stated that their PCR tests are not affected by the new strain.