Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the covid-19 diagnostic antibody tests being (a) evaluated and (b) supported by the Government contain animal-derived antibodies.

The Government is backing efforts to develop a homegrown antibody test. A business consortium, UK Rapid Test Consortium (UK-RTC), including Oxford University, Abingdon Health, BBI Solutions and CIGA Healthcare has launched, in order to design and develop a new antibody test to determine whether people have had the virus. The development of this test will not involve testing on animals.