Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses like the common cold, but can also cause more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has now spread around the world with currently over 17 million cases . Whilst symptoms are generally mild and most patients make a full recovery, the infection can be more serious, and potentially fatal, for older patients and those with underlying health issues.
Whilst various treatment options are in development for SARS-CoV-2, testing has initially been the focus of the global response to the pandemic, including antigen testing to identify infected individuals, and antibody testing for those who have previously been infected and are now potentially immune.
Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) offers reagents and therapeutics based on Affimer technology for diagnostic and research applications in the United Kingdom. The company’s custom Affimer products are also used in drugs and biomarkers discovery in biotech research and development.
