Fulgent Genetics Extends Partnership with New York City Test and Trace for COVID-19 Testing, Awarded Contract for 2021 School...
December 29 2020 - 8:00AM
Fulgent Genetics (Nasdaq: FLGT), a technology company
providing comprehensive testing solutions through its scalable
technology platform, today announced that the Company has extended
its partnership with the New York City Department of Education (or
“NYC DOE”) and NYC Health + Hospitals for COVID-19 testing through
the remainder of the 2021 school year. The contract was awarded
after a competitive process where Fulgent demonstrated its COVID-19
testing capabilities, including its accurate and reliable test
offerings, easy to use reporting systems and fast turnaround times.
Through the agreement, Fulgent will provide COVID-19 testing for
thousands of students and employees at many K-12 schools in New
York City on a daily basis. The NYC DOE will leverage
Fulgent’s FDA EUA-approved RT-PCR test, a type of test believed to
provide the highest level of sensitivity and specificity for
COVID-19 testing. Results will be available to individuals
generally within 24 hours from the time when Fulgent receives and
accepts a specimen to one of its labs.
“We have been working with the teams in New York City over the
last several weeks, which has been going extremely well. The
ongoing success of our COVID-19 testing program is a major
testament to the hard work of the teams in New York City and the
Fulgent staff involved in the project,” said Brandon Perthuis,
Fulgent’s Chief Commercial Officer. “New York City issued a
competitive request for proposal (RFP) for the 2021 school year,
and we are excited to have been selected from the many labs who
replied. We believe our staffing team, turnaround time and
technology platform, on top of proving our capabilities to New York
City in 2020, made us a great partner for New York City Department
of Education. In addition, we believe it has become increasing
clear that RT-PCR is the gold-standard for COVID-19 testing. We
look forward to continuing to do our part to help keep schools safe
through the remainder of the 2021 school year,” added Perthuis.
New York City schools will utilize Fulgent’s shallow nasal swab
test, referred to as a mid-turbinate or anterior nares sample, for
the tests. This is generally a comfortable, painless sample
collection and is much less invasive than the deeper nasal swab
originally used for COVID-19 testing. To date, Fulgent has
processed many thousands of student samples and the feedback from
staff and families has been very positive. The testing program
utilizes Fulgent’s in-house built Enterprise Platform to make the
testing process very fast and easy to scale. Overall, the process
takes about one minute for each student to complete.
About NYC Test & Trace Corps
The NYC Test & Trace Corps is a public health
initiative to fight COVID-19 so that New Yorkers can get back to
school, work and help New York City reopen safely. The
Corps is a group of doctors, public health professionals and
community advocates working to reverse the COVID-19 outbreak and
protect our city. The public health program is led by NYC
Health + Hospitals in close collaboration with the NYC
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and other city
agencies. Through its robust and citywide partnerships, The Corps
helps New Yorkers receive free, safe and confidential testing for
COVID-19 and for the antibody test. It ensures that anyone with the
virus receives care and can safely isolate to prevent the spread.
For more information,
visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/test-and-trace/.
About Fulgent Genetics
Fulgent Genetics’ proprietary technology platform has created a
broad, flexible test menu and the ability to continually expand and
improve its proprietary genetic reference library while maintaining
accessible pricing, high accuracy and competitive turnaround times.
Combining next generation sequencing (“NGS”) with its technology
platform, the Company performs full-gene sequencing with
deletion/duplication analysis in an array of panels that can be
tailored to meet specific customer needs. In 2019, the Company
launched its first patient-initiated product, Picture Genetics, a
new line of at-home screening tests that combines the Company’s
advanced NGS solutions with actionable results and genetic
counseling options for individuals. Since March 2020, the
Company has commercially launched several tests for the detection
of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus
(“COVID-19”), including NGS and reverse transcription polymerase
chain reaction (“RT-PCR”) - based tests. The Company has received
Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”) from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (“FDA”) for the RT-PCR-based tests for the
detection of SARS-CoV-2 using upper respiratory specimens (nasal,
nasopharyngeal, and oropharyngeal swabs) and for the at-home
testing service through Picture Genetics. A cornerstone of the
Company’s business is its ability to provide expansive options and
flexibility for all clients’ unique testing needs through a
comprehensive technology offering including cloud computing,
pipeline services, record management, web portal services, clinical
workflow, sequencing as a service and automated lab services
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release
include statements about, among other things: the reliability and
specificity of the Company’s tests; expected lab capacity and
turnaround times; test performance and management’s judgements and
evaluations of the Company’s capabilities, platform and
technology.
Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical
facts and relate to future events or circumstances or the Company’s
future performance, and they are based on management’s current
assumptions, expectations and beliefs concerning future
developments and their potential effect on the Company’s business.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties, which may cause the forward-looking events and
circumstances described in this press release to not occur, and
actual results to differ materially and adversely from those
described in or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, among others: the ongoing impacts
of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the preventive public health
measures that may continue to impact demand for the Company’s tests
and the pandemic’s effects on the global supply chain and other
general logistical challenges; the market potential for, and the
rate and degree of market adoption of, the Company’s tests,
including its newly-developed tests for COVID-19 and genetic
testing generally; the Company’s ability to capture a sizable share
of the developing market for genetic and COVID-19 testing and to
compete successfully in these markets, including its ability to
continue to develop new tests that are attractive to its various
customer markets, its ability to maintain turnaround times and
otherwise keep pace with rapidly changing technology; the Company’s
ability to maintain the low internal costs of its business model,
particularly as the Company makes investments across its business;
the Company’s ability to maintain an acceptable margin on sales of
its tests, particularly in light of increasing competitive
pressures and other factors that may continue to reduce the
Company’s sale prices for and margins on its tests; risks related
to volatility in the Company’s results, which can fluctuate
significantly from period to period; risks associated with the
composition of the Company’s customer base, which can fluctuate
from period to period and can be comprised of a small number of
customers that account for a significant portion of the Company’s
revenue; the Company’s ability to grow and diversify its customer
base and increase demand from existing and new customers; the
Company’s investments in its infrastructure, including its sales
organization and operational capabilities, and the extent to which
these investments impact the Company’s business and performance and
enable it to manage any growth it may experience in future periods;
the Company’s level of success in obtaining coverage and adequate
reimbursement and collectability levels from third-party payors for
its tests; the Company’s level of success in establishing and
obtaining the intended benefits from partnerships, joint ventures
or other relationships; the Company’s compliance with the various
evolving and complex laws and regulations applicable to its
business and its industry; risks associated with the Company’s
international operations; the Company’s ability to protect its
proprietary technology platform; and general industry, economic,
political and market conditions. As a result of these risks and
uncertainties, forward-looking statements should not be relied on
or viewed as predictions of future events.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release speak
only as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes
no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking
statements to reflect actual results or to changes in expectations,
except as otherwise required by law.
The Company’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its quarterly report on Form
10-Q for the year ended September 30, 2019 filed with the SEC on
November 9, 2020 and the other reports it files from time to time,
including subsequently filed quarterly and current reports, are
made available on the Company’s website upon their filing with the
SEC. These reports contain more information about the Company, its
business and the risks affecting its business.
Investor Relations Contacts:The Blueshirt GroupNicole Borsje,
415-217-2633; nicole@blueshirtgroup.com
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