Biocept to begin coronavirus testing in its highly advanced and certified lab in San Diego

Biocept Inc (NASDAQ: BIOC), a molecular diagnostics company, announced that it has verified a coronavirus (COVID-19) molecular diagnostic test, and plans to begin accepting physician-ordered testing requests for processing beginning on April 15. In a statement, the San Diego company said that it has partnered with a national clinician network to accept patient samples and may obtain additional agreements as test capacity increased. Biocept operates a high-complexity, CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited and BSL-2 safety level laboratory in San Diego, with specialized, licensed molecular “lab staff that have been trained in performing the COVID-19 testing,” said the company. Biocept’s lab will be using ThermoFisher Scientific's TaqPath molecular diagnostic platform and kit which has been received the US Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). READ: Biocept's Target Selector oncogene mutation detection platform wins a patent from Brazil Biocept CEO Mike Nall said that while the company continued to focus primarily on providing “actionable results” for patients diagnosed with cancer, the company was pleased to support its clients and public health efforts by expanding its offerings “to include COVID-19 testing.” “I am very thankful to our laboratory team for stepping up and quickly validating COVID-19 testing, in addition to the vital work we do each day for patients diagnosed with cancer," said Nall. "We will provide this critical testing to physicians as we fight the global coronavirus pandemic," he added. The company also clarified that an unapproved version of a test website page was inadvertently posted to the company's website by a third-party website consultant. “This unapproved test website page contained certain inaccuracies related to billing matters and should be disregarded,” said the company. Biocept is a molecular diagnostics company with assays for lung, breast, gastric, colorectal and prostate cancers, and melanoma. The company's patented Target Selector liquid biopsy technology platform captures and analyzes tumor-associated molecular markers in both circulating tumor cells and in circulating tumor DNA. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive