MELVILLE, N.Y., March 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon
U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital
imaging solutions, today announced that Canon Medical Systems
Corporation (Canon Medical) announced the start of development of a
rapid genetic testing system for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19),
reaffirming Canon Medical's commitment to the basic research and
development of rapid diagnostic test kits. This project is part of
a research program focusing on the development of diagnostic
methods for COVID-19 led by the Japan Agency for Medical
Research1.
Canon Medical was selected to participate in this research
program in cooperation with Nagasaki University. This was in recognition
of Canon Medical's strength in leveraging its technologies in
delivering practical solutions to support medical emergencies,
notably by supplying Ebola rapid test kits to the Republic of
Guinea in 20152,
donating Ebola rapid test kits to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019, and
through the manufacturing approval and sale of the Genelyzer KIT (a
reagent kit for Zika virus RNA testing) in 20183.
The test and the reagents being developed for COVID-19 RNA
testing is based on the LAMP method4 developed by Eiken
Chemical Co., Ltd., and are to be used with a compact isothermal
amplified gene fluorescent detector manufactured by Canon Medical
to detect the presence of virus. Compared to the conventional test
method of real-time PCR, the LAMP method allows for detection of
the virus to be performed more easily and quickly, which makes it
suitable for testing in local areas where infection is
prevalent.
For more information, please visit www.usa.canon.com
About Canon U.S.A.
Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc.,
is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and
industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately
$33 billion in global revenue, its
parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S.
patents granted in 2019† and was named one of Fortune
Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2020. Canon
U.S.A. is dedicated to its
Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental
responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon
U.S.A., sign up for the Company's
RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on
Twitter @CanonUSA.
†Based on weekly patent counts issued by United
States Patent and Trademark Office.
1 On the AMED
website: https://www.amed.go.jp/program/list/01/06/covid-19.html
2 Following the outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in
West Africa in 2015, in response
to a request from the government of the Republic of Guinea, the Japanese government donated Ebola
rapid test kits which were jointly developed by Canon Medical
Systems Corporation (formerly Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation)
and Nagasaki
University.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/press/release/press3_000088.html
3 Trade name: Reagents for Zika Virus RNA
Testing Genelyzer KIT FGNK-0003A
Approval number:
23000EZX00035000
The company obtained approval for the
manufacture and sale of this kit in June
2018 based on joint development work with Nagasaki University in two phases of the
project "Establishing surveillance system for the risk of outbreaks
of emerging and re-emerging insect-borne diseases in Japan and developing comprehensive
insect-borne virus control system" (2016, 2017 onward) (research
representative: Masahiro Hayashi,
National Institute of Infectious Diseases of Japan) in the Research Program on Emerging and
Re- emerging Infectious Diseases.
4
A nucleic acid amplification method known as LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification )
developed by Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd.
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SOURCE Canon U.S.A., Inc.