5000 coronavirus tests taken at Sartorius

So far, employees of Sartorius and external companies have had themselves tested voluntarily on Sartorius Campus in Göttingen, Germany more than 5000 times for a coronavirus infection. These tests are part of a mobile corona analysis (MCA) response study of the Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz University of Hannover in Germany. On Thursday, the Minister for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Björn Thümler, visited Sartorius Campus to receive first-hand information on the mobile container lab specially built for taking test samples “The collaboration between scientists of the Leibnitz University of Hannover and the Sartorius Group demonstrates yet again that we are taking joint action to effectively combat the coronavirus in Lower Saxony. The study will provide us with important insights into how the virus evolves and thus help reduce infections over the long term. I would like to thank all those who are participating in the study or have already had themselves tested,” said Minister Thümler.

The study is designed to last several months. Since the beginning of May, Sartorius staff members have been given the opportunity to be tested regularly at approximately two-week intervals. “As a reliable partner of the biopharmaceutical industry and life science research, we need to keep our company operations up and running at all times. This is also important for the development of coronavirus vaccines as the majority of the companies working on such preparations to increase immunity use Sartorius products. The tests provided in this study help us to detect possible infections at an early stage and contain them, where applicable. Moreover, we are happy to support this systematic study with our laboratory robot systems,” emphasized Sartorius Executive Board Chairman and CEO Joachim Kreuzburg. Members of external companies working at Sartorius Campus can also be tested. Such employees include cleaning personnel, children’s day care staff, cafeteria employees and skilled trade workers.

Professor Thomas Scheper, Ph.D., who heads the Institute for Technical Chemistry at the Leibnitz University of Hannover, is leading the study. “In this project funded by the State of Lower Saxony, we can demonstrate that mobile container labs specially designed and set up at essential work locations ensure fast and efficient detection of SARS-Cov-2. In my view, this will increase safety at workplaces and, in the event of an infection, quickly enable tracking of contacts and protection of others,” he said. In an accompanying study, the test persons will also be asked about their assessment of coronavirus testing and their experiences and expectations.

Before test sampling, all participants are first requested to fill out a digital consent form. Medical specialists then use a long “Q-Tip” to take a sample by swabbing the back of the throat, an “oropharyngeal swab.” Sartorius is not informed about the results. Yet if a test result is positive, the lab will inform the local public health department and the Sartorius company medical physician, who is bound to maintain absolute confidentiality. So far, no new positive case has been diagnosed.

A mobile test station has also recently opened for testing at the Sartorius site in Guxhagen in northern Hesse and has performed around 400 tests to date, all with negative results.

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