Japan's Fujifilm says it can make new coronavirus variant detection kits in weeks

TOKYO (Reuters): A unit of Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Tuesday (May 18) it can develop detection kits for new variants of the coronavirus in about a month, responding to concerns over the spread of more infectious strains of the virus.

Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp developed a kit that can identify the L452R variant, first identified in India and California and recently discovered in Tokyo. That adds to kits that can detect two other strains of the virus used by public health authorities as early warning systems for infection trends.