A new biological reagent is now available to labs that will help them to develop more accurate diagnostic tests for COVID-19, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says.

The reagent includes noninfectious genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developed by the MHRA’s National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, the reagent can be used as a positive control for tests to detect the presence of COVID-19. A positive control is a sample that contains a known amount of the coronavirus genetic material which acts to confirm that the test is working correctly.