Eurofins Biomnis to create additional capacity of 15,000 tests per day carried out within 24 hours to help combat the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Eurofins Biomnis is continuing its investments to supporting healthcare authorities, hospitals and private laboratories. While France has been experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 infections for several weeks now, technicians and biologists are on stand-by to respond to requests for RT-PCR, the reference test to detect SARS-CoV-2. At its Ivry-sur-Seine and Lyon sites, Eurofins Biomnis has deployed two very high throughput automated platforms capable of handling ever-increasing test volumes.

A dedicated platform at the cutting edge of public health and safety

Eurofins Biomnis has been committed to the fight against COVID-19 since last March and will facilitate analysing more and more samples as quickly as possible in order to provide patients and healthcare professionals with fast and reliable results. Following the recommendations of health authorities, and in order to respond to increased testing demand, the laboratory has decided to significantly reinforce its two technical platforms in Ivry-sur-Seine and Lyon, which have been operational since the beginning of the pandemic.

In concrete terms, Eurofins Biomnis has established 1000 m2 of laboratory space dedicated specifically to SARS-CoV-2 testing. By creating these units from scratch, Eurofins Biomnis demonstrates its agility and ability to react to a major health crisis in order to provide the best possible service to patients and stakeholders.

The platforms have been designed to optimise speed of testing and to avoid manual work as much as possible. They are approved for the performance of airborne infection tests which require the wearing of specific protective equipment. The platforms comprise more than a hundred devices and equipment that allow the management of samples in a process designed to be as automated as possible at each stage of the analysis (from decanting to validation of the quality of the analyses before interpretation by biologists). This frees up time for molecular biology technicians to focus on stages which yield the highest added value for patients.

An industrialisation of the analyses made possible by the 7 / 7 days mobilization of the teams

Since March, Eurofins Biomnis' testing capacity has gradually ramped up to the point where, in addition to current daily test volumes, it now has additional spare capacity to perform 15,000 additional tests per day when needed. The turnaround time for results is less than 24 hours in 99.8% of cases. The ability to perform such a volume of PCR testing is the result of constant mobilisation of the teams. More than 150 people have been recruited. Training has been organised to develop employees’ ability to be able to perform multiple different aspects of the testing process. In order to accelerate the structuring of processes in the laboratories, Eurofins Biomnis has been supported by other divisions of the Eurofins Group and the Group’s process engineering teams.

In order to meet the demand of healthcare professionals and patients, different teams rotate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Six biologists (3 full and 3 alternates) are responsible for the validation of RT-PCR assays. This allows for analyses validation even on Saturdays and Sundays.

For even more efficiency, each team is appointed to a specific step in the analysis process. This extremely rigorous organisation, based on the expertise of each team member, allows for a rapid response, but also ensures complementary workflows between the Ivry-sur-Seine and Lyon sites. Should the number of tests increase beyond available capacity, Eurofins Biomnis can not only balance the level of activity between its two sites, but also mobilise other Eurofins Group laboratories, as the health authorities have granted the required authorisations thereafter.

The responsiveness exhibited by Eurofins Biomnis is a result of the technical expertise of the laboratory's staff and the experience of many other Eurofins companies. Some Eurofins companies have developed their own in-house solutions and CE marked reagents and kits for the RT-PCR test, all validated by the National Reference Centre of the Institute Pasteur. They allow biologists and technicians to be independent from any one type of reagent or supplier and allow Eurofins Biomnis to pursue its public health mission to serve patients and healthcare professionals while mitigating supply chain risks.

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Notes to Editors:

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About Eurofins – the global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific, through its subsidiaries (hereinafter “Eurofins” or “the Group”), believes it is the global leader in food, environmental, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products testing and in agroscience CRO services. It is also one of the global independent market leaders in certain testing and laboratory services for genomics, discovery pharmacology, forensics, CDMO, advanced material sciences and in the support of clinical studies. In addition, Eurofins is one of the leading global emerging players in esoteric and molecular clinical diagnostic testing. With over 48,000 staff across a network of more than 900 independent companies in over 50 countries generally specialised by end client markets and operating more than 800 laboratories, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 200,000 analytical methods to evaluate the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of a wide range of products, as well as providing innovative clinical diagnostic testing services. The Group’s objective is to provide its customers with high-quality and innovative services, accurate results on time and, when requested, expert advice by its highly-qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and a very large range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality-oriented international groups in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients’ increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the increasing demands of regulatory authorities and healthcare practitioners around the world.

Shares in Eurofins Scientific are listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

Until it has been lawfully made public widely by Eurofins through approved distribution channels, this document contains inside information for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse, as amended.

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgment of Eurofins Scientific’s management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the information available to the Company’s management as of the date of publication, but no guarantees can be made as to their completeness or validity.

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