Senzo Partners with BARDA over Amplified COVID-19 Antigen Test

Senzo has secured federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to help develop the company’s Amplified Lateral Flow (ALF) COVID-19 antigen test that delivers comparable results to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

Including amplification into a lateral flow test has been a challenge for diagnostics test makers because of the tendency for amplified tests to return false positives.

The ALF technology provides “a fast, low-cost, easy-to-use lateral flow test with the same accuracy as a PCR test,” the company said.

The antigen test was 100 percent accurate when compared with PCR testing, even in cases with very low viral levels, which could allow for earlier detection of virus compared to current lateral flow tests, Senzo said.