人類冠狀病毒NL63是一種新近鑒別出來的與嚴重急性呼吸綜合征（SARS）相關的病毒，Focus診斷公司(Herndon, VA, USA)正在研制開發對這種新型冠狀病毒和其他冠狀病毒的檢測方法，該公司以前叫做Focus技術公司。

這種新型冠狀病毒能夠在5歲以下的兒童中導致嚴重的呼吸系統疾病，并與成人和老人的呼吸系統疾病相關聯。這種病毒是2004年學院醫學中心(Amsterdam, The Netherlands)的Lia van der Hoek醫生和同事首先發現的。在那年的早些時候，耶魯大學(New Haven, CT, USA)的研究人員提示這種病毒與川崎病可能存在聯系，這種疾病是導致兒童獲得性心臟病的主要病因，而這種疾病在那之前從來沒有發現與病毒感染有關。有幾個實驗室目前正在評估這種相關性。

NL63病毒獲得了原始發現者申請的保護。對該相關的權利被授予了Primagen控股公司(Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.primagen.com)。Focus診斷公司與Primagen公司已經宣布了一項特許協議，開發檢測這種冠狀病毒的PCR檢測方法。這將允許位于Cypress (CA, USA)的Focus診斷公司的感染性疾病參考實驗室，成為第一個將這種檢測方法推向市場的美國實驗室。

“我們的協議是開發新型診斷方法，以幫助醫生進行診斷以更好的治療患者，”Charles C. Harwood Jr.如此評論說，他是Focus診斷公司的首席執行官。該公司有一家制藥診斷分部，叫做Focus Bio-Inova位于法國的Plaisir。

Test for New Coronavirus
 
A test for human coronavirus NL63, a newly identified virus related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and other coronaviruses, is being developed by Focus Diagnostics, Inc. (Herndon, VA, USA), formerly called Focus Technologies.

The new coronavirus causes severe respiratory disease in children under five and is associated with respiratory disease in adults and the elderly. The virus was first described by Dr. Lia van der Hoek and colleagues at the Academic Medical Center (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) in 2004. Earlier this year, researchers at Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA) indicated a possible association of this virus with Kawasaki disease, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children, which has never before been shown to have a possible infectious cause. Several laboratories are assessing this association.

The NL63 virus is the subject of a patent application filed by the original discoverers. The rights to the patent have been assigned to Primagen Holdings B.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; www.primagen.com). Focus Diagnostics has announced a license agreement with Primagen for the purpose of developing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the coronavirus. This will allow the infectious disease reference laboratory of Focus Diagnostics in Cypress (CA, USA) to be the first U.S. lab to bring a test to market for this new agent.

“Our charter is to develop new diagnostic tests that help physicians make a diagnosis that leads to better patient management,” observed Charles C. Harwood, Jr., CEO of Focus Diagnostics. The company has a pharmaceutical diagnostics subsidiary, Focus Bio-Inova, in Plaisir (France).