Molecular biologist Yousef Haj-Ahmad left his teaching position at Brock University back in 2013 to focus full-time on Norgen Biotek, a manufacturing and research company that develops tests that can be used to detect anything from chlamydia to, yes, Covid-19. The Ontario government recently invested a million dollars in the company’s current mission: the development of Covid-19 testing kits that aim to combine the accuracy of a PCR test with the convenience of a rapid antigen test.
You have certainly found yourself in a very in-demand industry. How did you get into molecular diagnostic testing in the first place? It’s the best option we have. Nobody wants to wait 24 hours—or longer—for a PCR test result. If you’re having friends over or going to a restaurant, you want a result in an hour. It’s funny though, because before the pandemic, antigen testing was considered old technology—it was the past and PCR was the future. Sort of like a typewriter compared to a computer. Most of the companies that used to create antigen tests stopped doing that because it wasn’ta growth area.
This could make such a huge difference to containing the virus. Think about schools or workplaces. We have been using regular PCR testing with our staff because we have the facility, and we have not had a single outbreak. When a positive result is detected, the person is sent home. Imagine the implications for traveling if you could just spit in a tube at the airport and get on the plane?Well, it’s better than nothing. But if you could have greater accuracy it would make such a difference.