Mission to Amplify the Global COVID-19 Response Announced

The global spread of COVID-19 is placing unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems around the world. Despite the R&D community uniting to develop diagnostics and treatments, progress remains a challenge as access to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is restricted to a limited number of biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories. 

To address this significant obstacle, ATCC, the world’s premier biological materials and standards organisation, in partnership with LGC Standards, is distributing its new SARS-CoV-2 reference material to the European and African scientific communities. This biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) control forms part of ATCC’s ongoing mission to significantly expand the number of public health and research laboratories that are able to respond to the global crisis.

ATCC has created a heat-inactivated preparation of SARS-CoV-2 virus. It will enable both BSL-1 and BSL-2 laboratories to develop accurate assays for COVID-19 detection and novel therapies. This expands on ATCC’s existing portfolio of diverse coronavirus research materials for the SARS-CoV-2 strain, which includes three synthetic RNA fragments from the virus, and a reference of its genomic RNA.

For general research and vaccine development, ATCC offers a variety of lines known to propagate SARS-COV-2. These include Vero, Vero E6 and cGMP Vero cells as well as their gene edited Vero cells, which are generated in-house with enhanced virus production capabilities.

When developing a new assay to detect SARS-CoV-2, having access to other coronavirus strains for production can be valuable for establishing inclusivity and exclusivity. To support this need, ATCC provides viral strains and nucleic acids representing alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses known to cause disease in humans.

To drive access to these materials in the European and African research communities, the ATCC-LGC partnership will facilitate and accelerate the ordering process. LGC Standards is leveraging its established local-office network in each region, allowing ATCC customers to benefit from timely customer service, technical support, stocking and delivery in the same time zone.

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