Mawi iSWAB Microbiome-EL Enables Prime Discoveries’ Development of Rapid Extraction-Less COVID Diagnostic Assay
25.4.2022 16:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Mawi DNA Technologies (Mawi), a biotechnology company focusing on the development of innovative technologies for biosampling, announces that Prime Discoveries has successfully developed CovidDetect™, a rapid isothermal amplification diagnostic assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Without the need for RNA extraction and purification, the sample result occurs in less than 30 minutes. The assay uses Mawi’s new iSWAB Microbiome-EL (Extraction-Less) sample collection technology. This allows RNA release from the sample and maintains stability, protecting it from degradation and allowing room temperature storage and transport.
Prime Discoveries recently received CE IVD marking for CovidDetect™ and plans to pursue FDA 510K approval soon. Clinical results from Prime CovidDetect™ has been peer reviewed and recently published in PLOS ONE under “A Rapid, Specific, Extraction-Less, and Cost-Effective RT-LAMP Test for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Clinical Specimens.” The CE marking allows deployment of a solution to countries in Africa and Asia where rapid, inexpensive diagnostics for various infections with minimal technical expertise and equipment infrastructure is highly required.
Prime CovidDetect™ leverages Mawi’s unique iSWAB Microbiome-EL sample collection buffer with Prime Discoveries’ patented Loop AMPlification (LAMP) technology. This allows isothermal nucleic acid amplification removing the need for expensive thermal cycling equipment required for PCR. The Extraction-Less protocol bypasses the expensive and complex nucleic acid extraction and purification step, saving 60-90 minutes of sample processing time needed for PCR.
Arun Manoharan, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer at Prime Discoveries, said, “The COVID pandemic has shown that there is a big need for rapid diagnostic assays. Prime Discoveries aims to build a portfolio of solutions which can provide results in under 45 minutes with minimal laboratory, reagent and technical skill requirements. This is ideal for point of care testing in rural neighborhoods, mobile testing, border points of entry and clinical locations with minimal infrastructure. Our work with COVID has shown stable performance of the Mawi iSWAB Microbiome-EL for hundreds of clinical samples with similar or superior performance to RT-PCR solutions. Samples have been stable for more than two weeks with minimal RNA degradation along with high compatibility with our isothermal nucleic acid amplification techniques.” He added, “Our partnership with Mawi enables Prime Discoveries to develop room temperature sampling with Extraction-Less capabilities for our rapid diagnostic solutions in many areas. These include influenza, chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomonas, HBV, HCV, HPV, TB, herpes, syphilis, etc. We are excited to partner with Mawi for future products empowering customers to test thousands of patients rapidly for various infections including respiratory, gastrointestinal, sexually transmitted pathogens and those with anti-microbial resistance.”
About Prime Discoveries
Prime Discoveries develops rapid, novel diagnostics for emerging pathogen infections with a focus on cost effective, massively scalable and easily automatable assays. Founded in NYC in 2017, Prime’s scientists have extensive backgrounds in microbiology, computational biology, lab automation and AI from Genentech, Cooper Genomics, Recombine, Phosphorus, and NYU. Prime is advised by leading experts in the fields of genomics and public health including Dr. George Church and New York University. Prime is supported by academic institutions, venture capital firms and angel investors including New York University, Charles Zegar (Bloomberg), Esther Dyson (23 & Me), BoxGroup, Akron Fusion Ventures, Beresford Ventures, Cannonball Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, Francois Nader (Moderna, Acceleron, Shire), Unshackled Ventures, Doberman Forward, and others. For more information, visit www.primediscoveries.com.
About Mawi DNA Technologies
Mawi DNA Technologies, founded in 2013, has developed and commercialized the iSWAB technology, an innovative system for collection of biosamples. Mawi’s mission is to uphold sample integrity from anywhere in the world at room temperature, enabling true sample diversity across any geography or population segment. At Mawi, The Future of Biosampling is Here™. For more information, visit http://www.mawidna.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220425005323/en/
Contact information
Investors:
Jerome David, VP of Sales and Marketing
510-256-5186, j.david@mawidna.com
Media Contact:
Susan Tellem, APR, RN, BSN
310-313-3444, susan@tellemgrodypr.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
AMCS Appoints Richard Humphrey as Chief Product and Technology Officer9.9.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
AMCS, a leading technology provider for the waste and recycling industry, today announced the appointment of Richard Humphrey as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Based in Boston, Humphrey will lead the company’s global product organisation. Humphrey brings more than 25 years of experience developing software for construction and other complex industrial environments. He joins AMCS as the company deepens its focus on waste and recycling and expands the role of AI across its platform. Most recently, Humphrey served as Chief Product and Technology Officer at Contruent, where he led product strategy for a construction cost-management platform used on major capital programmes. He previously held vice president roles at Bentley Systems and B2W Software. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at Autodesk, where he led its Civil Design and Construction software business as Senior Director. “Richard understands what it takes to build software for industries where the work is ex
BBH Launches a New Technology Business, Braid, Solving for Intelligent Data Transformation9.9.2026 15:45:00 EEST | Press release
Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) today announced the launch of a new technology affiliate, Braid LLC, focused on solving enterprise data transformation for financial services. Braid offers an AI-native data transformation platform that gives firms a scale solution to transform, connect, and manage their data with confidence. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260909294398/en/ Braid empowers teams to build, automate, and oversee reliable production-grade data transformations in a fraction of the time typically required today. Instead of requiring engineers to build data automations, Braid allows business users to describe their needs in natural language that AI agents use to build intelligent data transformations that are transparent and fully auditable. Braid’s enterprise-grade engine then processes and delivers those data transformations in a controlled and deterministic environment. Built by financial services exp
LTM Collaborates with IBM and Red Hat on Lightwell to Advance AI-Driven Open-Source Software Remediation9.9.2026 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world's largest enterprises, today announced that it has collaborated with IBM and Red Hat on Lightwell to help enterprises safeguard the open-source software supply chain through AI-driven vulnerability remediation. As AI accelerates the discovery of software vulnerabilities, organizations must move beyond detection-focused approaches and adopt enterprise-scale remediation strategies that enable rapid risk mitigation without disrupting business-critical applications. Lightwell’s approach of delivering validated fixes for production environments aligns with LTM's aim of helping customers build secure, resilient, and operationally efficient software supply chains. By combining AI-powered remediation capabilities with enterprise-grade validation and deployment support, Lightwell aims to help organizations address security challenges across increasingly complex open-source ecosystems. Building on its long-standing status as an IBM Platinum Partn
New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Data from Phase 3 Studies Demonstrating Oveporexton (ORZEYFUL) Improved the Full Range of Narcolepsy Type 1 Symptoms and Quality of Life9.9.2026 15:24:00 EEST | Press release
Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published results from two Phase 3 studies evaluating oveporexton (ORZEYFUL), an oral orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist, in people with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1).1 Oveporexton is the first and only medicine to treat the underlying cause of NT1. "People living with narcolepsy type 1 face persistent symptoms across the day and night, which can impact many aspects of daily life,” said Emmanuel Mignot, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator for the FirstLight (TAK-861-3001) Phase 3 study. “The newly published Phase 3 data reinforce the potential of oveporexton to transform how we approach narcolepsy type 1 in clinical practice, shifting from managing individual symptoms to treating the disease itself.” NT1 is a chronic, rare neurological disease driven by orexin deficiency. As a result, people experience a range of daytime and nighttime symptoms including excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle t
ZincFive Launches Next-Generation BMS, Setting a New Standard for Nickel-Zinc Battery Management9.9.2026 15:05:00 EEST | Press release
ZincFive®, the leader in nickel-zinc (NiZn) battery-based solutions for immediate power applications, today launched the ZincFive BMS, a next-generation battery management system purpose-built for its NiZn chemistry, designed and assembled in the U.S. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260909653032/en/ The ZincFive BMS ships standard with every ZincFive BC Series UPS Battery Cabinets, serving as the primary interface for data center operators, UPS OEM partners, and system integrators to monitor and manage ZincFive’s technology. Built on years of experience managing NiZn in real-world data center environments, ZincFive engineered the BMS around the unique characteristics of its NiZn chemistry, rather than adapting a platform designed for lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries. The result is a streamlined two-tier hardware architecture, consisting of the ZincFive Controller and ZincFive Tray Monitor, that delivers high
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom