Stanislav Kmoch: Know-how made testing for Covid safer ****************************************************************************************** * Stanislav Kmoch on know-how that made testing for Covid safer ****************************************************************************************** Lab contributed to testing and put years of experience into new commercial kit For 30 years, Professor Stanislav Kmoch has devoted himself to the research of rare diseas the coronavirus pandemic, his laboratory was able to apply significant know-how in the dev new diagnostic kits for the detection of Covid-19 and other virus-related illnesses. While side-project, the results speak for themselves: a commercially available product which sho detection of Covid-19 faster and safer. Kmoch’s contribution led to the founding of the un GeneSpector [ URL "https://iforum.cuni.cz/IFORUMENG-870.html"] , which introduced its prod week. How important was your experience with research into rare diseases when it came creating a novel coronavirus? Rare diseases are unusual in the sense that you have a limited number of patients, often l conditions in faraway places. Often samples that we study take a long time to reach us fro the planet, so that means samples have to be properly treated to both survive the journey be safe as they could be potentially infectious. For that reason we developed a special sy collection and transport. I understand that the specifics of the fluid called viRNAtrap used to preserve samples [an safe - Editor’s note] is a trade secret but is it something unique? It is. Although it is created from various raw materials which are readily available, the is the result of years of know-how and research. We’ve created many litres of it in our la an historic advantage as in the past we had to find many solutions ourselves while relying approaches in molecular biology. We know exactly how each ingredient in the fluid works. I of affairs that a lot of labs get a commercial kit, where they have two fluids A and B and instructions, meaning they don’t have to think about it further. But it also means not kno going on chemically. How did your lab get involved in testing for the coronavirus? I was with my daughter Tereza [a student at CU and successful skier who was interviewed by editor’s note] at the World Cup in Sweden when the start of the pandemic caught up with us closing the borders. It was difficult to get back to the Czech Republic and I spent 14 day or in quarantine which was required. That was the period when all academics began testing. from my neighbour, colleague and friend Prof. Zdeněk Kleibl, asking of we might help with General University Hospital in Prague. It made sense to me: to help protect patients, medi and laboratory staff. All of them were suddenly in the middle of handling a large volume o highly infectious samples. What are some of the specific ways you helped? At the start of the crisis, there was a shortage of individual components needed for the d process: test tubes, swab sticks, kits for isolating RNA, chemicals for PCR analysis, disp In the first phase, we provided the hospital with our fluid which neutralised infectious s preserving them. With the samples made safe, lab workers could work under normal condition lot. The fluid is compatible with all kinds of swabs and useable with all types of isolated RNA that a lot of samples would have to be analysed so we lent colleagues our robot and an opt isolating RNA with the help of magnetic bearings. We managed to speed up the test signific previous five hours to just one. About 10 people worked on this and I have to say the team digging deep, looking for solutions, and if there was a way to come up with an improvement in a short period of time, we were able to offer improved testing. How was GeneSpector founded? It was a lucky coincidence: I was in quarantine and I was working on an article which had on by PhD. student Michal Pohludka (who is now GeneSpector’s executive head) and I mention testing coronavirus samples. He was focused on the same problem at the time. So I wrote hi we did it and could offer a new faster and safer approach and he was intrigued. I lent him test and that was how things started and how GeneSpector got off the ground. What has all this meant for you? For me it’s a side project but one with a very satisfying and pleasant result, made possib research into rare diseases. I am very happy that our method makes it safer for lab techni we simplified and sped up the diagnostic process. The commercialisation of the product, ho others. At the same time, the results and the samples collected opened the door for new re re-test samples but study other aspects: when you take a swab you don’t capture just coron bacteria or hosts’ RNA. So more possibilities… If you have a positive sample you can study other pathogens which could help explain why s no signs of infection and others suffer a much heavier illness. If you take something like the illness itself was not responsible for most deaths but the bacteria Streptococcus pneu with malnourishment. You can examine certain molecular markers which can potentially revea in a household is infected and another is not. I could go on and on. I’m a little bit sorr more studies of that kind, as we have a lot of positive samples now and clinical data for research. I think that we could learn a lot more about the course of this disease. ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Professor░Stanislav░Kmoch░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Based at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the First Faculty of Medi [ URL "https://ncmg.cz/en"] as well as research of diagnostic and medical treatment method new diagnostic methods, many of which were implemented into practice. Translated by Jan Velinger You can read the original interview in Czech here [ URL "https://iforum.cuni.cz/IFORUM-169