Franklin’s Thermo Fisher Introduces new Covid Surveillance Tool

The Franklin unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., a $40 billion global tech giant recently announced its new rapid environmental test to help in the fight against COVID-19. According to the company, rather than diagnostic purposes, their Renvo Rapid PCR Test is designed for environmental surveillance in communal locations such as schools, businesses, healthcare facilities, government buildings and other public areas.

The Renvo Rapid PCR Test is performed on air samples collected using the company’s Thermo Scientific AerosolSense Sampler.

“As the world learns to live with COVID-19 and adapts to the rapidly changing dynamics of new variants, there is a clear need for heightened surveillance and testing of indoor air quality,” said Siqi Tan, vice president and general manager of environmental and process monitoring at Thermo Fisher. “For facilities that already have our AerosolSense Samplers, the Renvo Rapid PCR Test can be used as an accessory to strengthen their testing processes. The powerful combination of the AerosolSense Sampler and the Renvo Rapid PCR Test offers fast, highly accurate environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 for greater peace of mind.”

The system uses proprietary Oscar PCR technology to shorten thermocycling times and produce on-site SARS-CoV-2 air sample results in just 30 minutes, a marked improvement over the four to 24-hour testing turnaround time previously available using the AerosolSense Sampler testing service. This faster response time enables quick decision making and strengthening of risk mitigation strategies for communal locations and facilities.

The Renvo Rapid PCR Test is the latest addition to Thermo Fisher’s overall response to COVID-19, which includes other PCR testing solutions, virus and epidemiological research, vaccine development and lab products.