- The Montpellier CHU has judged and compared nine serological tests since the start of the coronavirus health crisis. "One of those that showed the best performance was developed by the company IDvet," explains the hospital center.
- Based in Grabels, in the metropolis of Montpellier, this SME specializes in the development and production of diagnostic tools for infectious animal and zoonotic diseases.
- Serological tests are techniques for detecting antibodies. They make it possible to assess the proportion of people who have contracted the virus in a given population.
The Montpellier University Hospital judged and compared the performance of nine serological tests for coronavirus screening. "Among those who have shown the best performance, one of them has been developed by a Montpellier SME, the company IDvet", details the hospital center.
The study showing the effectiveness of the test was conducted by the virology laboratory of the CHU. It relied on blood samples from patients treated at the hospital and whose diagnosis of Covid-19 was established.
Specialist in animal diseases transmissible to humans
This SME based in Grabels, in the metropolis of Montpellier, employs more than a hundred people and has a consolidated turnover of more than 15 million euros in 2018. Created in 2004, it specializes in the development and production of diagnostic tools for infectious animal and zoonotic diseases.
It provides laboratories around the world with millions of tests to screen for animal diseases transmissible to humans, such as avian flu or bovine tuberculosis. “Independent, IDvet finances its development projects itself. This allows it to react very quickly to the emergence of new infectious diseases ”, underlines Philippe Pourquier, CEO of the SME.
Tests "essential from an epidemiological point of view"
"The serological tests are interesting because they shed light on how the infection could have spread in our region," details the Montpellier University Hospital. These tests make it possible to retrospectively know what has happened in a population, by targeting groups of people: carers, residents of nursing homes, general population. This knowledge is essential from an epidemiological point of view. And to know for example since when, precisely, the virus circulates in Occitanie and more generally in France.
Serological tests are techniques for detecting antibodies. They make it possible to assess the proportion of people who have contracted the virus in a given population. They are different from virological tests (PCR), which determine whether a person is affected by the virus. "It is a complementary method to PCR particularly useful for hospital patients and consultants when virological tests are negative while the clinical picture or pulmonary imaging are suggestive", specifies the CHU of Montpellier. IDvet explains that its serological test can detect antibodies against Covid ‐ 19 with a specificity of 99.9%.
Validated by the national virus reference center
In total, more than 10,000 tests were offered by the company to several hospital laboratories, including a part at the CHU in Montpellier and the IHU in Marseille.
The company has already produced a million tests. The kit put on the market has been the subject of a favorable evaluation by the national reference center for respiratory infections virus of the Institut Pasteur.
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- Health
- Covid 19
- Coronavirus
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Montpellier