Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A Saudi research team at the Research Center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) in Riyadh has developed a diagnostic test to detect people infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The diagnostic test has been developed by a scientific team led by two international research scientists in microbiology Dr. Ahmed Al-Qahtani and Dr. Fatima Al-Hamlan, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Friday.

The new test relies on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and it has obtained the approval of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) in the Kingdom.

Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, CEO of the Research Center at KFSH in Riyadh, said that the test followed a series of precise scientific laboratory standards and has passed all the verification stages.

Dr. Al-Zahrani said that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center owns the Primers device, which is the cornerstone of molecular polymerization tests for virus detection, noting that reaching this advanced stage in developing the diagnostic test reflects the outstanding competence of the Saudi researchers, who worked on this project until it reached its final stages, meeting all the required scientific requirements.

Meanwhile, Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad, the Executive Supervisor General of the General Corporation for King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, expressed his appreciation for the research team that was able to design and develop the test, enabling the hospital to carry out the required laboratory tests for samples of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

The test relied on the local product efficiently. The objective was to overcome any shortage of commercially manufactured products, whether from abroad or within the Kingdom due to the high demand, amid the outbreak of the pandemic.

Dr. Al-Fayadh added that King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center is ready to produce the primers for local laboratories and to share the protocol with local and Gulf laboratories to counter the shortage of commercial solutions.