Airport staff trial pre-departure rapid testing
PocDoc and BioSure work with Edinburgh Airport as part of recovery planning using the Vatic KnowNow saliva test
PocDoc, a digital healthcare business and leading end-to-end COVID-19 testing solution, launching trial with Edinburgh Airport to provide “fit to fly” certificates
Pre-departure rapid testing to tell people if they have a current COVID-19 infection with results in 15 minutes, is being trialled at Edinburgh Airport as part of recovery planning for aviation in Scotland.
The week-long trial is the first of its kind and tests only require a saliva sample, meaning no nasal or throat swab and a far less invasive testing experience.
PocDoc and BioSure are running the trial, delivering an end-to-end testing solution using the new, ground-breaking Vatic Know Now™ saliva antigen test.
The trial was open to staff and volunteers due to low passenger numbers, and demonstrated how testing can be scaled at airports and can significantly add to the testing capability already in place at Edinburgh Airport.
The digitally enabled rapid antigen testing for departing passengers at airports delivers a true “all-in” solution. The storing of results and issuing of “fit to fly” certificates in real time via the PocDoc app ensures a greater amount of safer travel as we look forward to post-lockdown travel restrictions easing.
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:
“We know testing will be part of our travelling future, so it makes absolute sense that we look at how that is possible in an airport environment as we prepare for aviation’s recovery.
Although there is a lack of detail on when that recovery might be able to take place, we are going to do all we can as an airport to make sure we put processes in place, so we are in the strongest position possible when conditions allow.
This trial with PocDoc and BioSure provides some insight into rapid, efficient and affordable testing and we will study the findings before deciding our next steps.”
PocDoc CEO & Founder, Steve Roest, said:
“COVID-19 has seen the travel industry brought to its knees, but with international travel set to commence again, we are hopeful for a much happier year for the sector. Everyone is aware of the extent of the testing problem and we believe PocDoc has found a solution. The very quick, reliable, cost effective and safe service will help unlock travel and provide a massive boost to consumers and travel operators alike. To book a test, all you need to do is visit https://www.mypocdoc.co.uk/workplace-screening/’’
Brigette Bard, BioSure Global Ltd said:
“Due to our teams' unique expertise in self-testing, BioSure fully understands the need for simple, accurate and cost-effective tests that can deliver real results in real time.
Through our collaboration with Vatic, we are thrilled to be supporting sectors across the board, including workplace settings, aviation and events, to find elegant solutions that can help reunite people and re-open the economy. The totally unique Know Now Saliva Antigen Test will only identify current, live infection and is simple and pain-free to administer – critical for successful mass testing .”
Available for interview on request:
Steve Roest – CEO & Founder, PocDoc
To book in an interview or for more information please contact: PocDoc@threesixtycomms.com
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Notes to Editors
For more information, go to www.mypocdoc.co.uk
About Steve Roest:
Steve graduated from Oxford University with a first with distinction in Modern Languages (specialised in German). He started in marketing and advertising with a place on Omnicom’s fast-track management training scheme, rotating through 6 major agencies across the world, including in Germany, particularly focused on digital, new tech and e-commerce sectors. He has always been drawn to the fast-growth, venture-funded tech world, he was exposed at an early age as his father was the first CEO of Shazam. He is also a commercial and sales specialist, mentoring startups in accelerators with his course, Sales for Founders. Steve is the CEO and founder of Vital Signs Solutions, where he has raised multiple rounds of early-stage funding and is an Innovate UK grant award winner, as well as a member of the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders review board.
About Vital Signs Solutions:
Vital Signs Solutions is an early-stage, venture backed digital healthcare company focused on solving major global problems. The founding team has 30+ years of experience in medical device diagnostics, organic chemistry, immunology, virology and VC-backed, fast growth-high-value companies with global scale. The scientific R+D team has deep expertise in organic chemistry, microfluidics, blood-based biomarker analysis and image analysis to the highest level. They have an extensive network of some of the best investors and advisors across the medtech, digital health and consumer technology sectors.
About PocDoc:
Vital Signs Solutions has developed the PocDoc® digital platform with the vision of allowing anyone with a smartphone or tablet to test themselves for a range of major diseases and conditions via a fingerprick, receive a full health assessment that puts those results in context and then be offered solutions to address any health-related issues that arise – all within the PocDoc app, all within minutes of taking the test.
The PocDoc® platform has been designed to work with their own set of proprietary, quantitative blood tests which have been developed in house and are focused on preventative disease areas (Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes as a primary focus). The platform can also integrate other existing rapid tests onto it, digitise the results and provide the same health assessment and follow-on care pathways – as is the case with PocDoc’s partnership with BioSure.
This allows them to offer healthcare organisations, employers and individuals a complete service and address major global health issues, across all disease and condition types.
About BioSure:
BioSure (UK) Limited are the manufacturers of the first CE marked HIV Self Test for personal use giving results in minutes. Since launching in 2015, the BioSURE HIV Self Test has helped people throughout the UK and the world, to #knowyourstatus. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, BioSure have pivoted their expertise and now have a range of UK developed and manufactured COVID-19 tests, which are available for professional use in the UK and international markets.
Brigette Bard, CEO, said “We are very proud to have partnered with the PocDoc app to provide, seamless COVID-19 testing solutions, giving organisations the opportunity to operate in a COVID-19 secure environment and make informed choices with confidence.”
Since launching the world’s first approved blood-based HIV self-test, BioSure has worked with governments, communities, and individuals across the world, generating conversations, giving people a choice of being able to test themselves and know their own status on their own terms and just as importantly, giving people the confidence to make informed choices that keep them HIV-free.
BioSure tests are known for their simplicity and ease of use and are now available to consumers across four continents; with 5 years of robust data behind their world-first product this has justifiably positioned BioSure to be global experts in self-testing and screening.
BioSure – “Our success has been built on our consumer responsive approach - everything they do is designed and refined with the unique needs of our customers in mind. We truly believe that self-testing will revolutionise disease diagnoses in our lifetime and we are committed to playing a significant role in both ending the HIV epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic with our power and our knowledge.
When you want to be sure #BeBiosure