Coronavirus Antibody Tests May Help End Quarantine For Some

BREA, CA — Beckman Coultler, a Brea-based life sciences corporation, is doing their part in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, they announced Tuesday. The company says that it is developing methods to identify antibodies to the coronavirus, which could determine who needs to remain under quarantine and who can go back to business as usual.

Research has shown that after infection with the coronavirus, viral antigens stimulate the body's immune system to produce antibodies that can be detected with IgM and IgG tests.

Often seen in pandemic movies, this is a real-life application that could help save lives, according to Kathleen Orland, senior vice president and general manager of Beckman Coulter's chemistry and immunoassay business. The antibody assays (or tests) play a critical role in understanding the measure of immunity an individual has developed against the virus.

"This type of understanding could help determine the identification of those who would require a vaccine once available or when an infected individual could safely return to work," Orland said.
Once they finalize the assays, Beckman Coulter intends to follow the FDA's Emergency Use Notification process established March 16 in response to the public health emergency.

According to Dr. Shamiram R. Feinglass, chief medical officer at Beckman Coulter, having the ability to determine a patient's immunity will help clinicians to clear hospital staff, emergency responders, and others to get back to work.

If a person has antibodies to coronavirus, they may have already been exposed and developed an immunity to the disease.

"This test also could allow those without immunity to be identified and kept safe until the pandemic subsides," he said.

More information on the new assays can be found at www.beckmancoulter.com/coronavirus.

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