10
INNOVATION
The Health Xtra | MARCH-APRIL-MAY, 2020
Strong demand for
GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid
Extraction Kit
A Malaysian-based
biotech company is
playing an essential
role in assisting the
medical and health
authorities
The lab offi cer is measuring DNA/
RNA concentration using microvolume
spectrophotometer.
The lab offi cer is transferring the gel
containing DNA/RNA into Gel Imaging
System for result evaluation.
BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN
V
IVANTIS’ GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit is
selling like hotcakes both locally and internation-
ally. Amidst the current virus pandemic, Vivantis
Technologies Sdn Bhd (Vivantis), a Malaysian-based
biotech company, is playing an essential role in
assisting the medical and health authorities with
the immediate supply of RNA extraction kits for use
in COVID-19 tests.
The company is currently producing and supplying the GF-1
Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit and ViPrimePLUS 2019-nCoV
RT-qPCR Kit to labs across nationwide and overseas. Vivantis
is a subsidiary company of Revongen Corporation Sdn Bhd
(Revongen).
Revongen’s CEO, Law Eng Lim said the GF-1 Viral Nucleic
Acid Extraction Kits are selling like hotcakes and are in high
demand, both locally and internationally and proven to work
well by most local hospitals and overseas customers.
“The orders are coming from China, Middle East, Germany,
Mexico, India, Brazil, Southeast Asia and other countries.
We sell our GF-1 Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit to more than 40
countries. The production capacity is about 1,000 kits per week
or about half a million tests a month. We aim to double and
triple our production capacity in the coming weeks to cater to
the higher demand,” he said.
The GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit is a mini spin
column-based nucleic acid purifi cation kit, which is designed
for rapid and effi cient purifi cation of viral DNA/RNA from
samples such as serum, plasma, body fl uid, virus-infected
cell culture supernatant or supernatant from virus-infected
swabs and/or nasopharyngeal swab. The kit is effi cient in viral
lysis for denaturation of proteins and subsequent release of
DNA and RNA. It is also profi cient in the recovery of highly
pure DNA and RNA, which is suitable for downstream reactions
such as RT-qPCR and library preparation for next-generation
sequencing. It eliminates the need for toxic or organic-based
extraction.
The GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit was developed
some years back during the SARS outbreak. It was later sold to
several research laboratories, and some research hospitals have
been using it for viral nucleic acid sample extraction.
With the emergence of the novel coronavirus Covid-19,
Vivant is jumped into national security action to help combat
the pandemic by launching the Support COVID-19 Research
Programme. The company donated GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid
Extraction Kits to many COVID-19 authorized testing labs in the
country. The labs ended up purchasing more kits from Vivantis
after tested and found to work well with the established screen-
ing protocols as well as for COVID-19 RNA extraction work.
So far, Vivantis has sponsored and supplied the GF-1 Viral
Nucleic Acid Extraction Kits to Makmal Kesihatan Awam
Kebangsaan (MKAK) Sungai Buloh, Hospital Pengajar Univer-
siti Putra Malaysia (HPUPM),Universiti Sains Malaysia Kampus
Kesihatan (USMKK) and University Malaya Medical Centre
(UMMC).Vivantis also rushed kits to KLIA for delivery to the
Vivantis’ success
featured on Astro Awani
Law Eng Lim
Chief Executive Offi cer
Vivantis Technologies
Sdn.Bhd.
Armed Forces plane to ship them in time to Sarawak and Sabah.
Apart from the GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction Kit,
Vivantis also developed the ViPrimePLUS 2019-nCoV RT-qPCR
kit, a real-time RT-qPCR test kit, which is the gold standard
test for COVID-19 diagnosis and confi rmation. It is a Taqman
probe-based real-time PCR assay for detection of the Covid-
19 genome in clinical samples such as a nasopharyngeal and
oropharyngeal swab, bronchoalveolar lavage, tracheal aspirate,
nasopharyngeal aspirate or nasal wash, sputum and serum.
It has high-priming effi ciency and specifi c detection profi le,
which is within 10 to <100 copies target number per reaction.
The kit also includes IEC control as extraction control and assay
validation confi rmation.
The processes for both the GF-1 Viral Nucleic Acid Extraction
Kit and ViPrimePLUS 2019-nCoV RT-qPCR Kit is straightfor-
ward. The fi rst step is to extract the viral RNA using the GF-1
Viral Nucleic Extraction Kit. The swab samples collected from
the patient will be undergone the lysis process where the viral
cells will be released, and then the RNA of the virus will bind
to the GF-1 glass fi lter membrane residing inside GF-1 spin
column. After several washing steps, the RNA will be eluted
into a tube to perform downstream application, which is then
followed by the RT-qPCR test. The reaction runs on a real-time
PCR machine, and it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to obtain the
result.
Apart from producing the viral nucleic acid extraction kits,
Reszon Diagnostics International Sdn Bhd (Reszon), a sub-
sidiary company of Revongen Corporation is also developing
rapid diagnostic tool for screening Covid-19. It currently has
developed COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Test Kit for quick detection
of COVID-19 for patients of post 5-9 days infection.
Said Law: “My research team is working very hard to come
out with our next COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test Kit which may
allow rapid detection via non-invasive samples such as urine.
We aim to release this prototype for clinical evaluation in the
BY CAMILIA REZALI
VIVANTIS TECHNOLOGIES Sdn Bhd’s
role as a local company in helping fight
the Covid-19 pandemic gained further
recognition when its CEO Law Eng Lim
was invited to speak on Astro Awani.
During the 30-minute session featured
on the TV station’s Agenda Awani
segment recently, Law spoke about the
company’s hotselling GF-1 Viral Nucleic
Acid Extraction Kit which is used in
Covid-19 tests.
Also participating in the session was
Malaysian Technology Development
Corporation (MTDC) CEO Datuk
Norhalim Yunus. The session was hosted
by Agenda Awani’s Kamarul Bahrin
Haron.
Law said despite high demand from
abroad, Vivantis as a local company,
placed Malaysia as a top priority in
supplying the kits. Orders from hospitals
in the Klang Valley will be delivered on the
same day.
Datuk Norhalim praised the
production of the kits by Vivantis.
“These forms of activities are
important for Malaysia. I am proud and
grateful we have a local company that
is able to produce such reagents for
diagnostic use,” he said.