Highest Volume COVID PCR Lab Shifts to Pandemic Preparedness Mode

SummerBio Processes 20 Million COVID PCR Tests as it Winds Down Lab Operations Due to Reduced Demand

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SummerBio LLC, a pandemic preparedness and response company that provides high-volume, fast turnaround PCR testing for COVID-19, today announced it will be transitioning to standby-mode at the end of the August due to a dramatic reduction in the demand for COVID-19 lab-based PCR testing.

Since the start of the pandemic, SummerBio has been trusted by more than 1,000 schools and corporations to provide fast turnaround and affordable COVID-19 PCR testing. To date, the Company has processed nearly 20 million samples with 95% of results reported in less than 24 hours at $13 per test – one of the lowest costs in the United States.

"SummerBio was created in response to the pandemic and the lack of available testing. With a mission of providing high-volume, low-cost, automated PCR testing, we were able to quickly roll out surveillance testing programs allowing schools and businesses to reopen safely," said Dave Scheinman, Co-Founder and President of SummerBio. "Our team accomplished the unthinkable by swiftly responding to public health needs and becoming the highest volume PCR lab with nearly all tests processed in under 24 hours – even during times of surge and new variants."

The Menlo Park lab will transition from active operations to a standby state. The Company's robotic instruments, specifically engineered for high volume and fast turnaround PCR testing, will be placed in a holding cell where they can be quickly activated to bring up to 180,000 tests per day of capacity in the event of another COVID-19 surge or future pandemic.

"As we move into a new phase of this pandemic where COVID is causing far fewer hospitalizations and deaths, the demand for PCR testing has shifted. Public health authorities are moving away from large-scale PCR screening programs and asking individuals to access testing through their healthcare providers or by using home-based antigen tests," said Sasha Seletsky, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer. "While home-based antigen tests are often considered to be lower cost, SummerBio's operations have demonstrated that lab-based PCR testing can be rapidly scalable, with fast turnaround of results, and at a comparable price."

"SummerBio has provided a blueprint for how to modernize public health infrastructure and rapidly meet public health needs with the necessary testing infrastructure," said Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H., former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and SummerBio Board Member. "The pandemic is still a reality and maintaining efficient, high volume, and low-cost testing capacity should be a federal priority. I am optimistic federal and state governments will see the value and continue to invest in the necessary infrastructure as part of ongoing pandemic preparedness. SummerBio will be ready when this happens."

SummerBio is a pandemic preparedness and response company committed to high-volume, affordable, and timely testing for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. To meet the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, SummerBio modernized and streamlined critical elements of the diagnostic testing process including developing an automated identification recording system, a novel sample collection kit, state-of-the-art robotics, and automated liquid handling systems. These innovations resulted in a dramatic increase in throughput, results reliably returned within 24 hours, and a significant decrease in cost compared to existing RT-PCR testing solutions—all while maintaining the highest quality possible. SummerBio was founded by life science automation industry veterans with decades of experience building and operating large-scale laboratory robotics, combined with world-class diagnostic molecular biologists, laboratory scientists, quality assurance professionals, public health experts, software engineers, designers, and logistics and operations executives. SummerBio's lab is CLIA certified and California Department of Public Health approved. For more information, please visit the Company's website at https://www.summer.bio.

SOURCE SummerBio LLC