Gemina Laboratories Ltd. announced the completion of its influenza A/B rapid test prototype. The company announced its intention to develop an influenza diagnostic in second quarter of 2022, using the company's unique chemistry platform. Influenza A/B: Demand for tests for influenza and other common illnesses has been growing significantly as health care providers seek to distinguish between diseases with common symptoms. In the post-pandemic era, consumers are also demanding greater control over their health status, creating substantial global demand for low-cost diagnostic tools that can be self-administered.

After an extensive antibody screening program, Gemina Laboratories, in partnership with RAPIvD, has completed the development of an influenza A/B rapid test prototype (the Gemina Benchmark Test) for internal benchmarking studies to further demonstrate the performance improvements imparted by the Gemina chemistry platform. The Gemina Benchmark Test is designed using the traditional Lateral Flow Assay ("LFA") format commonly found in the rapid COVID tests used throughout the pandemic. The Gemina Benchmark Test has been shown to reliably detect multiple strains of whole influenza A and influenza B viruses in artificial nasal fluid-spiked samples on a single test strip with no cross-reactivity between flu A and B. The Benchmark will now enter the optimization phase, followed by pre-clinical performance evaluation with patient samples.

Once performance evaluation is complete, the Gemina Benchmark Test will be put through a series of head-to-head performance evaluation studies against the same test built using Gemina's proprietary immobilization chemistry. This will be a true direct comparison between its proprietary LFA design and the industry standard LFA design. The resultant data will provide a direct measure of the improvements imparted by the Gemina technology in comparison to standard LFAs.

Indeed, preliminary comparative studies utilizing the Gemina immobilization chemistry indicate the potential to reduce antibody usage by 6-8 times, while maintaining equivalent sensitivity to the traditional design. Since the majority of LFA tests use expensive antibodies to capture the virus and allow for detection on the test strip, this potential large reduction in antibody use represents a substantial benefit in terms of both cost reduction and improved supply chain security. The next steps for the further integration of the Gemina chemistry platform into its panel of upcoming diagnostic products will be provided in the CEO's strategy update to be released in January 2023.