Fast Track Diagnostics developed the Fast Track Diagnostics Sars Cov 2 Assay test kit for parent company Siemens Healthineers.

According to a Thursday press release, the kits are being distributed within the EU for “research use only to expedite availability” while the firm pursues emergency use assessment and listing status from the World Health Organization and with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Once achieved, the goal is to roll out the kits in the US and Europe.

The firm said the molecular assays detect the presence of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA), determining the presence of the targeted virus directly in the patient sample. It wrote: “In this way, molecular testing is effective early in the lifecycle of the virus and is thus efficient in urgent testing situations, such as global pandemics.”