Health Canada authorizes rapid COVID-19 antibody test

The Assure Tech Ecotest is the first rapid test to be authorized by Health Canada for the detection of COVID-19 antibodies. The Ecotest was also the first test to be authorized in the United States for point-of-care testing. (CNW Group/Verify Diagnostics Inc.)

BARRIE, Ont. — Verify Diagnostics announced that Health Canada has authorized the Assure Tech Ecotest COVID-19 serological rapid test to be used at the point-of-care (POC) for the purpose of screening for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Building on the U.S. FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) granted last year, Verify Diagnostics has worked with Health Canada, since March 2020, to bring this test to Canada.

“Antibody testing is key to understanding the prevalence of COVID-19 in our Canadian communities and, although complicated laboratory solutions are available to accomplish this, rapid testing offers an easy and inexpensive option to healthcare professionals and public health organizations.” said Tim Salter, president of Verify Diagnostics, in a prepared statement. “Use of these rapid tests have been proven effective in dozens of countries that we have provided solutions to and we are very happy to be able to now provide a solution for Canada.”

Verify Diagnostics has promoted the use of antibody tests globally since the beginning of the pandemic as a way to measure the disease’s spread through communities and, more recently, to track the efficacy of vaccination programmes.

Appropriate training is also an important factor in ensuring that rapid tests are both used properly and interpreted correctly.

“We have invested significant resources into creating multilingual online courses for all of the testing solutions we offer, including COVID-19 tests.” said Salter. “There’s a difference between selling a product and providing a solution, we have always focussed on the latter.”