A signing ceremony was held on May 29, 2020 for the "Production of Diagnostic Kit Reference Material for Rapid and Reliable Diagnosis of 2019-nCoV Virus" project carried out by TÜBİTAK UME, which was entitled to receive support within the scope of the Eastern Marmara Development Agency (MARKA) COVID-19 Combating and Resilience Program.
The symbolic signing ceremony was held via teleconference with the participation of Dr. Mustafa ÇÖPOĞLU, Secretary General of the East Marmara Development Agency and Dr. Mustafa ÇETİNTAŞ, Director of TÜBİTAK UME.
Within the scope of the project, TÜBİTAK UME, which develops new methods and produces reference materials in order to increase the quality of measurements made in Turkey, will produce RNA reference material to be used in 2019-nCoV virus measurements. The reference material to be produced will be used as an internal quality control material in kits produced in our country in order to increase the accuracy of tests performed in laboratories. With the infrastructure to be developed in TÜBİTAK UME laboratories and the technical experience to be gained, new RNA reference materials can be produced in a very short time in case the 2019-nCoV virus mutates or another virus emerges.
The project, which has a support amount of 297 000 TL and is planned to start on May 30, 2020 and to be completed within 3 months, aims to increase the measurement accuracy of RT-qPZT tests of the 2019-nCoV virus, so that the correct diagnosis can be made at the earliest stage and the correct treatment and quarantine can be decided at the earliest time. Thus, it is aimed to stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent loss of life.
