Focus正致力于开发新型冠状病毒的检测方法

 
人类冠状病毒NL63是一种新近鉴别出来的与严重急性呼吸综合征（SARS）相关的病毒，Focus诊断公司(Herndon, VA, USA)正在研制开发对这种新型冠状病毒和其他冠状病毒的检测方法，该公司以前叫做Focus技术公司。

这种新型冠状病毒能够在5岁以下的儿童中导致严重的呼吸系统疾病，并与成人和老人的呼吸系统疾病相关联。这种病毒是2004年学院医学中心(Amsterdam, The Netherlands)的Lia van der Hoek医生和同事首先发现的。在那年的早些时候，耶鲁大学(New Haven, CT, USA)的研究人员提示这种病毒与川崎病可能存在联系，这种疾病是导致儿童获得性心脏病的主要病因，而这种疾病在那之前从来没有发现与病毒感染有关。有几个实验室目前正在评估这种相关性。

NL63病毒获得了原始发现者申请的保护。对该相关的权利被授予了Primagen控股公司(Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.primagen.com)。Focus诊断公司与Primagen公司已经宣布了一项特许协议，开发检测这种冠状病毒的PCR检测方法。这将允许位于Cypress (CA, USA)的Focus诊断公司的感染性疾病参考实验室，成为第一个将这种检测方法推向市场的美国实验室。

“我们的协议是开发新型诊断方法，以帮助医生进行诊断以更好的治疗患者，”Charles C. Harwood Jr.如此评论说，他是Focus诊断公司的首席执行官。该公司有一家制药诊断分部，叫做Focus Bio-Inova位于法国的Plaisir。

Test for New Coronavirus
 
A test for human coronavirus NL63, a newly identified virus related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and other coronaviruses, is being developed by Focus Diagnostics, Inc. (Herndon, VA, USA), formerly called Focus Technologies.

The new coronavirus causes severe respiratory disease in children under five and is associated with respiratory disease in adults and the elderly. The virus was first described by Dr. Lia van der Hoek and colleagues at the Academic Medical Center (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) in 2004. Earlier this year, researchers at Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) indicated a possible association of this virus with Kawasaki disease, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children, which has never before been shown to have a possible infectious cause. Several laboratories are assessing this association.

The NL63 virus is the subject of a patent application filed by the original discoverers. The rights to the patent have been assigned to Primagen Holdings B.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.primagen.com). Focus Diagnostics has announced a license agreement with Primagen for the purpose of developing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the coronavirus. This will allow the infectious disease reference laboratory of Focus Diagnostics in Cypress (CA, USA) to be the first U.S. lab to bring a test to market for this new agent.

“Our charter is to develop new diagnostic tests that help physicians make a diagnosis that leads to better patient management,” observed Charles C. Harwood, Jr., CEO of Focus Diagnostics. The company has a pharmaceutical diagnostics subsidiary, Focus Bio-Inova, in Plaisir (France).