BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pandemic
Response Lab (PRL) – the leading lab capable of
simultaneous school "pool testing," variant tracking and individual
testing – today announced the launch of four national COVID-19
testing hubs to help children return to the classroom safely.
The four hubs, operated by Opentrons Labworks Inc., will be located
at PRL's existing lab in New York
City and in three new labs opening in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, CA; and Seattle, WA.
PRL, an advanced diagnostic lab, also announced that it has a
program to provide pool testing for its school testing partners for
only $25 per test, with results that
can be delivered in under 12 hours. For a 25-student classroom,
that is as low as $1 per child – the
lowest in-lab cost in the nation – ensuring widespread availability
of the service and fast, accurate results. In addition to schools,
PRL's pool testing is available to cities, states, counties, and
major employers.
"The last year has been nearly impossible for most families to
navigate," said Jonathan
Brennan-Badal, CEO of Opentrons. "The Pandemic Response
Lab (PRL) is the solution American families need to get our kids
back in school safely, equitably, and efficiently. By using our
advanced robotics technology and cutting-edge genome sequencing, we
are able to do what no other lab can do – provide fast, accurate
testing, variant tracking, and the lowest-on-the-market cost for
in-lab school pool testing services. By offering these low price
in-lab services, we are providing the affordable testing solution
for schools - regardless of their location or the wealth of the
surrounding areas."
"The COVID-19 pandemic has changed all of our lives forever, and
New York City has been on the
front lines of the fight," said Dr. Jay
Varma, Senior Advisor for Public Health for the Office of
the Mayor of New York City.
"We are deeply grateful for our partnership with the Pandemic
Response Lab. Without its great work, the City would not have been
able to create the nation's largest testing and tracing program,
with tests that are rapid, accurate, and affordable. The news today
that they plan to make individual and pooled testing even more
affordable will have a major impact on getting children and staff
back to school safely."
"I have run one of the largest public health programs in the
country and I can tell you that the Pandemic Response Lab (PRL)
expansion will change the game in how we fight this deadly virus,"
said Jennifer Kent, former
Director of the California Department of Health Care Services.
"PRL has significantly advanced the way testing, variant tracing
and school pooling are done - all in one place, all in rapid time
with extreme accuracy at the lowest cost on the market - in
New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Seattle. This increased testing capacity means
we can finally get our children back to school safely, and our
society and economy back on solid ground."
KEY FACTS
- At each hub, PRL is partnering with school testing coordinators
and leading health diagnostic companies to collect samples from
schools. These samples are then sent to PRL for in-lab school pool
testing and variant tracking services.
- PRL's testing is:
-
- Highly accurate: Up to 25% more sensitive than industry
benchmark PCR tests.
- Fast: 99% of PCR results are provided in 24 hours or
less, compared to the 48- to 72- hour industry average.
- Affordable: PRL offers its partners a range of
volume-based testing solutions, including $25 per pool test of up to 25 students, or just
$1 per child – costing up to 50% less
than the national average.
- Proven technology: PRL has already processed more than 2
million tests for the people of New
York since October 2020. And
PRL is now testing more than 120,000 students and educators each
month.
- Pool testing is a cost-effective tool that allows schools to
widely test students, faculty and support staff, quickly determine
if COVID-19 is present, and then follow up to identify any positive
individuals and conduct rapid contact tracing and mitigation steps.
PRL's genome sequencing can also tell a school if a dangerous
variant is present, providing a critical piece of information in
shaping the community's response.
- In addition to launching its new testing hubs in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Seattle, Opentrons is exploring opening labs
in other communities around the country.
MORE ABOUT PANDEMIC RESPONSE LAB
- Using Opentrons's advanced robotics technology, PRL provides
fast and accurate COVID-19 testing at a low cost to government
agencies, hospitals, businesses and schools. The PRL also conducts
large-scale genome sequencing to track COVID-19 variants and
identify potentially dangerous new mutations.
- In partnership with the New York
City government, Opentrons opened its first PRL in
New York last fall and has been
providing testing and variant detection for the city, area
hospitals and other clients ever since.
- In February 2021, the
New York lab discovered the first
case of B1.351, the South African variant of COVID-19, in a
New York State resident. The lab
has also been tracking the spread of the U.K. variant and other
mutations, and delivering real-time alerts to health
authorities.
- PRL is conducting 30,000 to 50,000 PCR tests every day at its
New York City lab, with capacity
increasing to more than 500,000 tests as it opens more labs around
the country.
- Opentrons can open a PRL in 30-45 days in most parts of America
and the world. The company specializes in manufacturing innovative
robotics automation solutions for health care. Its products are
used in more than 3,000 labs in more than 40 countries.
PHOTOS AND B-ROLL
Photos and b-roll video of the PRL New York City lab, including
footage of the Opentrons robots conducting PCR tests, can be viewed
and downloaded here.
Photo and b-roll opportunities at the PRL Washington, D.C. lab can be scheduled upon
request.
Featured on CBS This Morning
CONTACT
Media seeking interviews with PRL leadership and scientists, or
interested in visiting either the New
York or Washington, D.C.
labs, should contact Steve Posner at
Steve@SevenLetter.com or 202-827-9688.
Schools and partners interested in learning more about PRL's
testing capabilities and availability should visit
pandemicresponselab.com.
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SOURCE Pandemic Response Lab