AN Upton company has developed a coronavirus antibody test.

Bio-Diagnostics, based in Upton Upon Severn, has developed a test, now available to the public, which will tell users if they have antibodies after contracting coronavirus.

The company’s managing director Simon Mico said the technology could take pressure off the government’s testing system, saying it will help develop our understanding of immunity.

He said: “This is completely different technology to anything else, testing with very high accuracy whilst attaining results in three minutes, can really support the efforts we are all making to reduce the pandemic.

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“As the antibodies we detect develop after PCR tests cannot be used, we could take a pressure off that system proportionate to the number of people the BioCard positively identified.

“Being both highly specific and sensitive, we can now attain a much better understanding of who has immunity, even for asymptomatic people.”

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin visited the company along with Cllr John Smith, county council cabinet member of public health.

She said: “I’ve been in close touch with the company as it developed this test and I have shared the details with a number of ministers as we ramp up our country’s testing capability.

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“I am keen to champion this locally developed test which could be a real game changer as more people return to offices and our children return to school.

“Simon is clearly very passionate about this opportunity to offer a test which will make life much easier for many people who have had the disease but don’t yet know it.

“The Government is continuously looking at ways to expand our capacity for testing people who may currently have Covid-19, but alongside that I hope it will look closely at products which identify if we have had the disease and may be immune, as we continue our fight against this new virus.”