Teknova ups production of viral transport media to support COVID-19 testing

Teknova (Hollister, Calif.) recently announced that it has significantly scaled up production of its viral transport medium and saline to support COVID-19 testing.

VTM (or universal sample transport medium) is a sample collection solution for virus stabilization that maintains virus viability from the point of collection to the testing laboratory. It’s but one of a number of components in the testing workflow experiencing shortages amid the pandemic.

“With our flexible, automated systems we were able to scale up quickly from 20,000 tubes a month in April, to around 30,000 tubes a day currently, and we are on track to produce more than three times that number of tubes daily over the coming months,” Teknova CEO Stephen Gunstream said in a Sept. 2 news release.

“As a company, we are committed to supporting the ongoing need for high-quality transport media to enable effective testing programs as part of the global effort to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, the threat of COVID-19.”

Teknova is an ISO 13485 certified maker of cell culture media and supplements, protein purification buffers and molecular biology reagents.