This past December, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ranked the Clarifi COVID-19 Test Kit as the most sensitive COVID-19 saliva test currently available on the market.
In a statement released by the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Governor congratulated Quadrant Biosciences and SUNY Upstate Medical for our work developing the Clarifi COVID-19 Test Kit.
“New York’s medical experts are second to none and from the very beginning of this pandemic, we have relied on their vast knowledge and expertise to inform our response,” Cuomo said.
“This crucial development and expertise has played a critical role in ensuring SUNY students were tested efficiently and, if positive, isolated and on a path to recovery sooner. On behalf of the family of New York, I thank SUNY Upstate Medical, Quadrant Biosciences, and Dr. Frank Middleton for their diligence and steadfast commitment to fighting this invisible enemy.”
Throughout the fall semester of 2020, this easy to administer saliva test was used state-wide to test college students for the presence of the coronavirus RNA strand before they went back to school, before returning home for break, and during the semester. Combined with Quadrant’s wastewater surveillance and pooled testing tactics, colleges across the states were able to monitor the presence of COVID-19 on campus, to ensure the safety of faculty and students on campus.
Currently, the Clarifi COVID-19 Test Kit has expanded outside the collegiate system, and is being implemented in nursing homes as well as the Albany International Airport.
According to Governor Cuomo’s press release, “the FDA reviews COVID-19 tests based on the effectiveness of finding the smallest traces of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Tests with lower LoDs are better able to detect infections at the earliest stages when individuals may be infectious, but asymptomatic.”
The Clarifi COVID-19 Test Kit has the lowest Limit of Detection of any saliva test on the market, at just 600 NDU/mL.
“Upstate Medical’s and Quadrant Biosciences’ saliva test is significant for SUNY—not only fast and easy to use with results back within 48 hours, but also the test itself finds the virus within the earliest stages of the illness, so we can know who is positive more quickly and ensure they isolate from others,” said SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras.
Governor Cuomo also addressed our pooled surveillance efforts in his release, which uses the Clarifi COVID-19 swab to test 10-25 people at a single time.