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US-based women’s health company NxGen MDx has reported an immediate launch of its coronavirus (Covid-19) test to combat the lack of diagnostic test availability for the virus.
The test is expected to help meet the shortfall of diagnostic capabilities in the US, which has limited the country’s ability to combat the spread of the outbreak.
NxGen MDx laboratory operations director Dr Jacqueline Peacock said: “Like the CDC-built kits, ours will be conducted on QuantStudio qPCR instrumentation and will be able to process 2000 samples per day with tests being resulted in 24-48 hours.”
Due to the rise in Covid-19 cases in the US, the lawmakers, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have called on laboratories and medical companies to expand testing capacity to fight the pandemic.
NxGen MDx CEO Alan Mack said: “Covid-19 is a global challenge and we are committed to providing people on the frontlines of this pandemic with critical tests to help ensure proper care.”
Apart from the Covid-19 diagnostic test, the company is also working to validate a 40+ respiratory pathogen panel to identify the cause of respiratory symptoms in a single test. The test is expected to be launched in July this year.
Coronavirus causes highly contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness in the patients.
Meanwhile, healthcare companies across the world are striving to resolve the unprecedented health crisis caused by Covid-19.
Coronavirus cases have reached 380,000 globally with more than 16,000 deaths. In the US, the positive cases have increased to 33,404 and with over 400 deaths.
