T2 Biosystems, Inc., a leader in the rapid detection of sepsis-causing pathogens, announced that its T2SARS-CoV-2™ Panel detects Omicron COVID-19 subvariants BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus now accounts for 99.9% of all COVID-19 infections currently circulating in the United States.1 Although still considered an Omicron variant, there has recently been a worldwide increase in the Omicron subvariant BA.2. Since the Company’s November 30, 2021 announcement that the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel detects the Omicron variant based on in silico analysis, T2 Biosystems has continued to monitor the ability of the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel to detect all reported Omicron subvariants.
To confirm that the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel would detect the new Omicron subvariants (BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3), T2 Biosystems performed in silico analysis using genetic sequences in the GISAID database. Based on the sequences that were available on February 1, 2022, over 5,000 BA.1, 2368 BA.2, and 266 BA.3 sequences were evaluated. This in silico analysis demonstrated that the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel would be able to detect all Omicron subvariants.
“We are proud to announce that the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel is capable of detecting all Omicron subvariants, enabling healthcare providers to make accurate decisions about their patients’ health,” said John Sperzel, Chairman and CEO at T2 Biosystems. “Despite the broad use of at-home COVID-19 antigen tests, hospitals continue to rely on molecular or PCR tests, including the T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel, to identify acute COVID-19 infections. As such, we are seeing high demand by U.S. hospitals for our T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel.”
The T2SARS-CoV-2 Panel, which has demonstrated a clinical sensitivity of 95 percent and a specificity of 100 percent, provides results in under two hours utilizing an upper respiratory swab sample. The test runs on the Company’s fully-automated T2Dx® Instrument, which is capable of performing seven tests simultaneously and up to sixty tests per day.
The T2Dx Instrument is also capable of running the FDA-cleared T2Bacteria® Panel and T2Candida® Panel, the only FDA-cleared assays able to detect sepsis-causing pathogens directly from whole blood in three to five hours, without the need to wait days for blood culture results. By providing timely results, the panels enable clinicians to target therapy faster for their patients suspected of sepsis, often before the second dose of antimicrobials are administered, leading to better patient outcomes, improved antimicrobial stewardship, and reductions in length of stay in the hospital.
The T2Bacteria® and T2Candida® Panels remain especially relevant during the pandemic, as data suggests that the COVID-19 virus is highly correlated with bacterial and fungal co-infections that may lead to sepsis, and death.
