Ontario supplied with critical COVID test component 

HAMILTON, Ont. – Bay Area Health Trust will be supplying Ontario’s provincial labs with its McMaster Molecular Medium (MMM), a molecular transport medium that is a critical component of COVID-19 PCR testing. This is a repeat order of the made-in-Ontario product by the procurement authority representing the Province of Ontario. MMM is on Public Health Ontario’s approved list of COVID-19 PCR collection kits.

McMaster Molecular Medium (MMM) is a ready-to-use, temperature-stable sample collection and storage medium that inactivates and stabilizes coronavirus specimens from the collection site to the laboratory.

MMM was developed by researchers from McMaster University and The Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton’s Disease Diagnostics and Development Group. MMM enable labs to safely increase their COVID-19 testing capacity, thereby returning faster results.

Unlike viral transport media, MMM inactivates the virus so it cannot potentially infect a lab technician while keeping genetic material stabilized and ready for testing. These features are especially important during times of high testing levels, during which efficiency becomes critical.

Another key benefit of using MMM is the ability to pool specimens, which can enable labs to significantly increase their testing capacity. Since most tests produce negative results, only pools that come back with positive results will need to be further tested.

Bay Area Health Trust is continuously working with Ontario-based companies to identify and address its healthcare related needs. It’s plans for MMM include receiving US FDA authorization to enter international markets.

• With this order, the Ontario Government continues to support a made-in-Ontario technology that was researched, developed, and manufactured locally.
• McMaster Molecular Medium (MMM) is often preferred by labs because the samples arrive non-infectious and ready for testing. MMM inactivates the virus and therefore increases testing capacity because it removes time-consuming steps in the lab.
• Bay Area Health Trust returns value to its beneficiaries, which include Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University.

“Patient swabs collected in MMM are biosafe, stable, and automation-compatible. MMM saves technologist time and helps keep them safe, while ensuring excellent specimen integrity and test quality,” said Dr. Marek Smieja, chief and medical director (interim), Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program, microbiologist and infectious diseases physician, professor, Dept. of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, McMaster University.

“The importance of PCR testing now and into the future is very topical for obvious reasons and we commend the provincial government for taking this step to secure a made-in-Ontario product,” said Peter Kalra (pictured), president and CEO of Bay Area Health Trust.

About Bay Area Health Trust
At the intersection of health care, life sciences and business, Bay Area Health Trust is an Ontario-made success story and example of a thriving partnership between hospitals, post-secondary institutions, and the for-profit private sector. Operating life science businesses with the goal of returning value to its beneficiaries, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation and McMaster University, Bay Area Health Trust promotes entrepreneurship and invests in growth-oriented businesses to support patient care. More information can be found at www.bayareahealthtrust.com.

Source: Bay Area Health Trust