ZURICH—Roche’s newly acquired subsidiary TIB Molbiol has developed three new test kits to help researchers detect mutations in the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, Roche said on Friday. Governments around the world are urgently scouring databases for recent cases of COVID-19 infections, screening travelers, and decoding the viral genomes of the new variant as they try to measure how far it has spread. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Omicron as a SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern,” saying it might spread more quickly than other forms. “We are able to offer a test that can specifically identify the novel B.1.1.529 Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant to help better understand its spread and behaviour,” Thomas Schinecker, head of Roche Diagnostics, said in a statement. While the WHO has said widely available tests can detect individuals infected with any variant, most PCR tests cannot distinguish between Omicron and Delta, the dominant and most …