Covid test lab reopens
AMERICAN FIRM TO RESUME WORK TO UNDERSTAND VIRUS BETTER
A “STATE-OF-THE-ART” Covid-19 testing laboratory in Loughborough is to reopen - just four months after it was closed.
The former Lighthouse Lab, at the town’s Charnwood Campus science and enterprise park, had launched with some fanfare in November last year, creating 400 jobs.
There was surprise just a few months later, when it was announced the facility - operated by international diagnostics firm Perkinand capable of processing 50,000 coronavirus tests in a single day - was decommissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care back in March.
It has now emerged American biotechnology company Dante Labs has taken on the lab, which will soon resume the work that was being undertaken to help understand the spread and control of the virus.
The firm announced the move on Monday, confirming it will be opening its doors this month, when it will be operational “24 hours a day, seven days a week”.
Dante Labs declared an aim to eventually become a “global centre for excellence” for whole genome sequencing DNA research.
A spokesman for the firm, which has been working with the NHS Test and Trace operation, said it will use “smart automation and machine learning” to ensure “superior precision, sample tracking and quality”.
He said: “The site will employ expert scientists, researchers, technicians and other highly skilled workers, many of whom will be drawn from the local area.
“As such, Dante Labs will benefit from an abundance of top life sciences talent, with some of the UK’s most prestigious universities on its doorstep.”
He added: “The lab hopes to become a destination for talented graduates looking to take the first step in their life sciences careers.”
The lab’s initial capacity will be 50,000 Covid-19 samples a day.
Andrea Riposati, chief executive at Dante Labs, said its takeover of the facility would speed up the country’s Covid-19 testing capability.
“We’re truly delighted to be moving into the Charnwood Campus,” he said.
“Not only will the lab help accelerate the UK’s Covid-19 testing and sequencing capability, but it will also see us invest in the vibrant local community.
“Our expertise in whole genome sequencing and testing means that this lab will immediately play a crucial role today in managing the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the next decades to enable whole genomebased personalised medicine across the world.”
It is hoped that whole genome sequencing - the study of genetic information - carried out at the lab will also help provide a greater understanding of Covid-19 transmissibility and variants.
Gosia Khrais, commercial director at Charnwood Campus, said: “All at Charnwood Campus are excited to welcome Dante Labs as new occupiers to the site. The team’s leading life sciences experience, capacity and expertise will be a valuable addition to the campus and the local community.”
He added: “The long-term management of, and research into, Covid-19 is vital work and something we at Charnwood are honoured to be a part of.”
The former Perkin-Elmer Charnwood laboratory shut having completed its six-month contract. In its few months open, it processed over 1.8 million Covid sample results.
The DHSC, explaining its decision not to extend the original lab’s contract, said it had been down to “improved and new technology” allowing it to streamline its Covid testing system.