AbC-19™ Rapid Test used in UK BioBank COVID-19 Antibody Study

AbC-19™ Rapid Test used in UK BioBank COVID-19 Antibody Study

The study will investigate the long-term health effects of long COVID

York, U.K. 29 March 2021: The UK-RTC is pleased to announce that the AbC-19™ rapid neutralising antibody test is being deployed in Phase 2 of the UK Biobank Coronavirus self-test antibody study.

The study will provide researchers with unique opportunities to investigate the long-term health effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection (“long COVID”) and other health research related to COVID-19. The AbC-19™ Rapid Test is being utilised in Phase 2 of the study, which initiated in March 2021. Further details of the study can be found on the UK BioBank .

Participants will be sent the AbC-19™ test as part of a finger-prick home-testing kit that is simple and quick to do, returning results within 20 minutes. The results can then be submitted via the UK Biobank website. The test results and questionnaire data provided by participants will be incorporated into the UK Biobank resource and made available to approved researchers for vital COVID-19 research.

The AbC-19™ Rapid Test is a single use test for the detection of neutralising IgG antibodies to the full trimeric spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The test has been developed by the UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC) of which Abingdon Health is the lead member.

Prof. Chris Molloy, Independent Chair of the UK-RTC, commented: “Our consortium developed the AbC-19™ test to enable large-scale, mass testing - providing rapid, accurate results for researchers and citizens alike. It is testament to its quality that AbC-19™ is being used to support this national-scale research programme into the genetic and clinical risk factors for long COVID disease. We have much to learn about the role of antibodies in disease protection, and the long-term effects of the disease, which makes AbC-19™ a critical tool today and into the future.”

The UK Biobank is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource which contains in-depth genetic and health information from 500,000 UK participants. The database contributes to the advancement of modern medicine and enables scientific discoveries that improve human health.

For more information please contact:

Abingdon Health plc                                                                   +44 (0) 1904 406082                                                                                                                                                                                             

Leigh Thomas, SVP Director of Global Sales of Abingdon Health                  

Consilium Strategic Communications                                       +44 (0) 203 709 5700

Mary-Jane Elliott                                                                          

Matthew Neal

Lindsey Neville

About the AbC-19™ Rapid Test

The Company has developed and is manufacturing the AbC-19™ Rapid Test, an antibody test for COVID-19 indicating whether a person is generating IgG antibodies to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The same IgG antibodies that are present following infection or vaccination.