Luminex, Austin, Texas, has received $642,450 in funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to help support development, testing, and submission of an emergency use authorization (EUA) request for the Aries SARS-CoV-2 assay. The assay will run on the company’s sample-to-answer Aries system, an FDA-cleared, automated molecular diagnostics platform for moderate-complexity labs.
The Aries SARS-CoV-2 assay is designed to provide rapid answers in patients believed to have covid-19, generating results in approximately 2 hours. It can be run on 6-unit and 12-unit Aries systems for labs seeking a medium-throughput solution with minimal hands-on time required.
The assay will improve upon existing laboratory-developed tests for SARS-CoV-2 on the Aries system by eliminating the need to purchase and incorporate additional reagents, making the test easier to run and allowing labs to start testing immediately upon performance verification. Luminex intends to price the Aries SARS-CoV-2 assay below current government reimbursement levels in order to avoid additional financial burdens on customers and the healthcare system during the covid-19 pandemic.
Homi Shamir, Luminex.
“Throughout this challenging time, the Luminex team has been laser-focused on contributing to the global response to the covid-19 global outbreak,” says Nachum ‘Homi’ Shamir, president and CEO of Luminex. “We thank BARDA for supporting our efforts to develop and quickly launch this new test and our recently EUA-cleared NxTAG CoV extended panel. Luminex is now on a run-rate to deliver up to 500,000 tests per month, which are primarily focused on helping our customers fight this global pandemic.”
For more information, visit Luminex.
