Twist Bioscience Corporation announced that it has started shipping its new synthetic RNA reference controls, which includes the new variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 identified in the United Kingdom. With this new strain (B1.1.7 lineage, variant under investigation VUI-202012/01), which contains multiple mutations in the spike protein and other areas of the viral genome, some of the RT-PCR probes used widely in COVID-19 testing no longer detect the S gene that codes for the spike protein. This can lead to false negative test results. The Twist synthetic controls are designed based on specific SARS-CoV-2 variants, cover the full viral genome and are sequence-verified. For customers interested in alternative variants of SARS-CoV-2, Twist can provide custom controls and offers a suite of research tools, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) products for SARS-CoV-2 as well as a broad respiratory panel and the most comprehensive viral panel.