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# FDAers Develop Better Poliovirus Assay
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/fdaers-develop-better-poliovirus-assay/
- Published: 2019-06-18T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T01:33:13.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5144367

FDA scientists say they have developed a poliovirus assay that is faster and more versatile than those now used to monitor polio vaccine production, assess patient responses to polio vaccines during clinical trials, and do environmental surveillance of vaccine poliovirus. They say the new assay also is the first to measure the amount of several different strains simultaneously in a mixture of polioviruses.

An agency online [post](https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/science-research-biologics/fda-poliovirus-assay-faster-and-more-versatile-current-assays-used-vaccine-development-and?ref=fdaweb.com) says unlike standard poliovirus assays, the new one does not detect viruses by measuring their ability to damage or kill cells in a culture, a time-consuming procedure. Rather, it directly measures viral DNA using quantitative multiplex polymerase-chain-reaction as an endpoint.

“The development of the assay is important,” the notice says, “because it has key advantages for poliovirus vaccine development and production, as well as public health responses to the virus. The ability to identify and determine the quantity of several different viruses simultaneously enables it to rapidly process the large number of fecal samples collected from subjects during clinical trials, which is more time-consuming using the current techniques. The assay is also suitable for public health surveillance of vaccine virus in the environment, which could make it easier to track the poliovirus. In addition, the assay can be automated for high-throughput processing of samples, further simplifying and speeding sample processing for medical and public health applications.