Novacyt announced the launch of the company's first fully lyophilised (freeze-dried), direct-to-PCR assays. This new class of PROmate® assay enables shipping and transportation at ambient temperatures to remote regions or in areas without a centralised cold storage supply chain, providing an extended global reach for Novacyt's PCR portfolio. The first two lyophilised, direct-to-PCR assays to be launched are PROmate® COVID-19 (q32) 2G Dry and PROmate® COVID-19 (q16) 2G Lite Dry, further expanding Novacyt's COVID-19 detection portfolio and meeting customer distribution requirements for assays which can be deployed more easily in remote or developing regions.

These new assays complement Novacyt's COVID-19 variant detection portfolio, with a broader portfolio of lyophilised direct-to-PCR assays in development for the detection of other infectious diseases. Both PROmate® COVID-19 (q32) 2G Dry and PROmate® COVID-19 (q16) 2G Lite Dry are based on the PROmate® COVID-19 direct-to-PCR chemistry, and target the ORF1ab gene and the nsp16 gene, a non-structural protein of SARS-CoV-2. They are designed to function as a total workflow solution PCR amplification and analysis, with PROmate® COVID-19 (q32) 2G Dry configured for use on the Company's q32 instrument, and PROmate® COVID-19 (q16) 2G Lite Dry configured for use on the company's q16 instrument.