Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc. has won Japanese regulatory approval for a rapid test kit for the virus that causes COVID-19, with sales of the kit starting today. This is the first antigen test kit for SARS-CoV-2 approved in the country and will be used to bolster its testing rate.
The Fujirebio test takes under 30 minutes to process, compared with the four to six hours required for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests currently being used for mass testing. The immunochromatography-based test kit can detect proteins unique to the novel coronavirus from a mucus sample taken from the back of the nose, the same method used to detect influenza virus antigens