29th April 2020

EKF Diagnostics signs deal to supply sample collection device

EKF Diagnostics has struck a deal with Source BioScience to supply a patented sample device to be used in the growing Covid-19 testing service.

EKF is in the final stages of establishing a production line for the PrimeStore MTM sample collection kits at its site in Penarth, South Wales.

The facility is expected to produce 12,500 sample collection tubes a day once fully operational, with smaller batches set to be shipped to Source BioScience next month.

The PrimeStore MTM device was invented in 2006 in preparation for a worldwide pandemic.

Julian Baines, chief executive of EKF Diagnostics, said: “These collection kits will ensure that Covid-19 samples can be handled and transported without expensive refrigeration or fear of contamination.

“This is a key part of the testing process to ensure that as a nation we can safely and rapidly increase our testing capacity.

“We will continue to ramp up our production capacity here in the UK and in Europe to serve the demand we expect to see, as testing moves closer to reaching the government’s target of 100,000 tests a day.”

Source BioScience is based in Nottingham.