GBA Group: Hygienicum in Graz Using its Laboratory Capacity to Provide COVID-19 Tests in Austria

Graz, April 16th: The Hygienicum Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene in Graz has become the first company in the GBA GROUP to offer COVID-19 testing using the PCR method on samples from nose and throat swabs. The company’s testing capacity will be made available for the public healthcare system in order to process the PCR tests for COVID-19 in accordance with the national testing plan. In addition, tests will also be offered to private individuals and companies.

“Our molecular biology team and laboratory management have been working intensively in the past few weeks in order to establish a validated testing infrastructure in our facilities despite bottlenecks in the global supply chain,” explained Dr. Michael Stelzl, CEO of Hygienicum GmbH. “We are continuously in communication with the responsible agencies and authorities. We care deeply about using our services in order to make an important contribution towards curbing the effects of the Corona crisis in Austria.”

The recently finalized expansion of the Hygienicum site in Graz helped facilitate the establishment of the new testing infrastructure. That made it possible to keep the COVID-19 analyses isolated from other business activities and use part of the new facility exclusively for critical samples from the medical and pharmaceutical field.