Bosch says new rapid coronavirus test delivers reliable results in 39 minutes

Bosch has developed a new rapid test for its analysis device to detect the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. The test provides a reliable result in 39 minutes and is currently the fastest polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test worldwide, the company says. Bosch’s new rapid test is predestined for decentralized use in mobile test centers at freeway service stations or in airports.

“One of the keys to fighting the coronavirus pandemic is to rapidly identify sources of infection. That’s why we focused on following up on our first coronavirus test with an even faster one,” says Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “This will now enable us to put people’s minds at ease even more quickly.”

The development of the new Bosch PCR singleplex test is part of a research and development project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). As the federal minister for education and research Anja Karliczek says, “I believe it’s important that people have clarity about their state of health as quickly as possible. In this respect, insights from science and research can bring people huge benefits. Over the next few months, we will be confronted with the particular challenge of having to test more people. The improved testing procedure developed by Bosch with the BMBF’s support has the potential to be a tremendous help with this complex job. The rapid improvement of our technological capabilities shows what innovative achievements German companies can deliver in times of crisis.”

The test has a sensitivity of 98 percent and a specificity of 100 percent. To develop it, the Bosch subsidiary Bosch Healthcare Solutions joined forces with the German biotechnology company R-Biopharm – a leading provider of highly sensitive manual PCR tests. PCR tests are considered the gold standard of test methods.

Bosch launched the first rapid test for its Vivalytic analysis device at the end of March, after six weeks’ development. As a multiplex test, it simultaneously checks samples for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and nine other respiratory diseases in two and a half hours. The new, accelerated test is exclusively for SARS-CoV-2.