Air Canada has announced it has engaged Spartan Bioscience, an Ottawa-based biotechnology leader in portable DNA testing technology, to assess how best to deploy Spartan's portable COVID-19 testing technology in the aviation sector.
"Air Canada's strategy for managing COVID-19 has been to develop and apply multiple layers of biosafety measures for customers and employees. We believe the availability of a rapid, accurate, portable molecular test for COVID-19 will add yet another effective layer. We are excited by the potential and point of care use cases for the Spartan Cube, and look forward to working with the Spartan team in the weeks and months ahead," said Samuel Elfassy, Vice President, Safety at Air Canada.
Spartan is developing a proprietary swab for the collection of DNA samples for its COVID-19 test. Spartan's test cartridge (reagents) and the Spartan Cube (portable DNA analyser device) remain subject to Health Canada approval.
"Spartan is excited to explore how our fast, portable testing technology can help keep Air Canada employees and the travelling public safe as Canada's economy re-opens," said Nick Noreau, Spartan Bioscience's chief revenue officer.