Delivering massive scale COVID testing

The UK Prenetics team helped organisations as diverse as the Premier League, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Heathrow and IBM to safely return during the global pandemic.

A rapid business pivot

Prenetics pioneered testing to help people live longer and healthier lives. Before the pandemic, this was achieved via two leading genetics brands: CircleDNA and DNAfit. As COVID started to spread across the globe, the team at Prenetics rapidly developed a test for the virus.

Testing for COVID-19

The process of a DNA test and COVID test are somewhat similar. Both require a sample to be collected using a swab, transported to a laboratory and then analysed. Once the result is determined, the results are then presented in a secure way to the subject.


Delivering on scale

Prenetics’ first major client for COVID was the Premier League. The team would test 20 clubs, twice a week, using a network of nurses and testing stations set up at football clubs. In order for training and conduct to continue as normal, results would need to be delivered rapidly and securely so that any breakouts could be caught straightaway. To achieve this, a network of laboratories was set up to cater for the demand in testing.

Rapid turnaround

As Prenetics started to service more diverse clients there was a need for faster results, without any compromise on accuracy. Prenetics acquired Oxsed, a leading provider of LAMP testing. Working together, the companies were able to provide rapid testing at airports with highly accurate results available within 90 minutes. Avi also opened a new state-of-the art COVID testing laboratory on the Greenwich Peninsula in London.

Digital health passport

Testing for COVID was only one part of the equation. Once a person’s test result is known, it then governs whether they need to self-isolate or whether they can attend training and matches. In preparation for match days, Avi and the team developed a digital health passport that would check a person’s COVID test in real-time to govern their access to every zone in training facilities and stadiums for 20 Premier League football clubs.

Consumer testing

As the UK lockdown started to ease and borders opened up, Avi helped Prenetics established a national network of testing pods to help with Fit to Fly, Test to Release and simply testing for peace of mind. In all, more than 70 pods were set up to help the UK return to business as usual.

Overview

With Avi as CEO EMEA, Prenetics was able to pivot quickly to meet demand for swift, reliable COVID testing.

Avi launched the company’s testing programme Project Screen by Prenetics in 2020, which was instrumental in supporting the COVID effort in the UK and worldwide, achieving tests for more than 20 million people around the world.

Prenetics was the first diagnostics company to develop a ‘gold standard’ in testing, with Avi acting as the key point of contact with two of the largest private laboratories (Ampath and Lancet) to share learning and intelligence for the benefit of supporting the country.

This led to Prenetics being added to the UK government’s approved list of COVID test suppliers for international travel and the company providing testing at all the major UK airports.