Precision Biomonitoring Partners with Shared Value Solutions to Bring COVID-19 Point-of-Need Testing Capabilities to Northern Indigenous Communities

Collaboration to Provide Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips to Communities in Northern Ontario

GUELPH, ON and MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 9, 2020 /CNW/ - Precision Biomonitoring, an industry leader in offering point-of-need molecular detection tools for rapid results on the spot, has announced its partnership with Guelph-based environmental consulting firm, Shared Value Solutions, to bring its point-of-need SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips and rapid mobile detection device to Indigenous communities in northern Ontario, in response to COVID-19.

"We are all in this together," says Dr. Mario Thomas, CEO, Precision Biomonitoring. "For Canada to be successful in both flattening the curve and eventually combatting the virus, we need to ensure that all Canadians are receiving access to necessary tools, especially communities who are most vulnerable. Our rapid point-of-need solution is designed to do just that."

At present, the delivery of COVID-19 test results can take up to seven days in northern road-connected communities and can take even longer in more remote communities. With the ability to administer nine tests per hour at the point-of-need and deliver results in about 60 minutes, the 1.2 kg battery-operated, mobile COVID-19 test solution will help to increase testing speed and capacity.

Precision Biomonitoring's SARS-CoV-2 Go-Strips are currently awaiting expedited approval from Health Canada. Shared Value Solutions is hopeful that it will be able to provide this testing technology to northern Indigenous communities in Ontario and across Canada in the near future, immediately following Health Canada approval.

The collaborative efforts of Precision Biomonitoring and Shared Value Solutions will help to address the growing number of cases in First Nations and Inuit communities, as recently confirmed by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), while also supporting the federal government's commitment to the well-being of these vulnerable populations, as made evident by the new distinctions-based Indigenous Community Support Fund to address immediate needs related to COVID-19.

"From creating a hand sanitizer supply chain for the north to offering free support to First Nations departments operating with limited capacity, we are doing everything we possibly can to support our clients' greatest needs during this crisis. This new rapid testing option fills a crucial part of that need," says Scott Mackay, CEO, Shared Value Solutions. "To be able to provide support alongside the dedicated team at Precision Biomonitoring, who already shares an interest in issues important to Indigenous communities, including environmental protection, makes us truly confident that this collaboration will provide the innovative care and testing desperately needed in these communities."

About Precision Biomonitoring 
Founded in 2016 by a team of scientists from the University of Guelph's Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Precision Biomonitoring provides TripleLocktm onsite eDNA surveillance platform solutions that give customers earlier detection of organisms for a more rapid response. Customers are any organizations that need onsite surveillance and rapid identification of any organism in any environment. The Precision Biomonitoring team is at the forefront of technological innovations in the genomics industry. Our vision is a world where we can identify any organism on the spot, in an instant, anywhere on the planet. 

About Shared Value Solutions
Shared Value Solutions (SVS) is an environmental and community development consulting firm based in Ontario with employees also based in British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick. Our team works for and with Indigenous nations across Canada, providing technical guidance, regulatory advice, environmental peer reviews, negotiation and business strategy, and various supporting studies in relation to resource and infrastructure projects in our clients' territories. Our company is made up of an interdisciplinary group of environmental scientists, planners, anthropologists and social researchers, and community engagement practitioners with a wide range of experience working for Indigenous communities, tribal councils and governments across the country. At the core of SVS's work is the integration of environmental, social, cultural, economic values, advocacy for community health and well-being, and the protection of the environment and Indigenous rights.

SOURCE Precision Biomonitoring