Until now, RT-PCR has been the gold standard in testing for the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19 (colloquially known as ‘coronavirus’) infection. However, this type of laboratory test costs several hundred euros per suspected case, and results can sometimes take days to obtain. With European laboratories increasingly overburdened, this tendency is growing. In-vitro diagnostics can help.

Before selling or further processing hemp, pharmacies in most countries are obliged to check whether their delivery is CBD or THC-based. For self-explanatory reasons, it is important for police, customs and jails to distinguish between legal and illegal plant material also.

On 26th May 2017, the new guidelines for in-vitro diagnostics (IVDR) came into force across the EU. As of that date, manufacturers have a 5-year transition period, ending in May 2022, to implement the often time-consuming and labour-intensive changes.

Antibiotics are prescribed far too frequently, especially for the treatment of illnesses such as bronchitis, influenza or angina. About 70 - 80 % of all diseases of the upper respiratory tract are viral.

At the end of June this year some colleagues went to Vienna for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) congress.