Hill Laboratories granted accreditation to conduct saliva-based Covid-19 testing

New Zealand’s largest privately owned and independent analytical laboratory, Hill Laboratories, is now fully accredited to conduct Covid-19 testing on both saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs.

Following the outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand, Hill Laboratories began successfully conducting saliva testing in late 2020, with the service initially focused on the Aged Care Sector. This testing has helped keep many of New Zealand’s elderly community safe throughout the pandemic.

As an accredited testing laboratory this service can now be expanded, with the focus on delivering saliva testing throughout New Zealand.

Significant investments were made by Hill Laboratories to set up the test offering, which has ensured the dedicated team have the capacity to process up to 4000 samples a day.

Hill Laboratories use the SalivaDirect method, which was developed by New Zealand scientist, Dr Anne Wyllie, and her team at the Yale School of Public Health.

This development was the first saliva-based test for Covid-19 to be granted FDA approval in August 2020. It has since been used widely around the world, with millions of tests successfully conducted.

Hill Laboratories CEO, Dr Jonno Hill, is pleased to receive accreditation which allows them to expand their services further into this area of testing.

‘As a 100% NZ-owned company that has been providing analytical testing services to Kiwis for almost 40 years, we are looking forward to bringing our reputation for high quality and excellent customer service to this new area of Covid-19 testing.’

In the first instance, Hill Laboratories will be partnering with sample collection specialists to provide Covid-19 saliva testing services to independent businesses within New Zealand.

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