NetworkNewsWire
Editorial Coverage: Effective pandemic response relies first
and foremost on fast and accurate testing to buy time and save
lives while therapeutics and vaccines are developed.
Coronavirus cases continued to surge in the US this month,
showing no signs of slowing since lockdowns lifted. 3 million
confirmed cases in the US, with scientific estimates of 10 times
more. Citizens of all stripes have sounded a clarion call for
collective action and common sense. There is desperate demand for
rapid and reliable tests, buying time and subduing the beast, until
effective therapeutics and novel vaccines are developed. As the
public waits in line for hours to get tested and then days for
results, glitches are commonplace with reagent shortages, false
negatives, and laboratory backups. From tests to vaccines, there
has been a scramble for solutions from the best minds on the
planet. Setting a new standard in testing, LexaGene
Holdings Inc. (TSX.V: LXG) (OTCQB: LXXGF) (LXG
Profile) has developed a unique
pathogen detection instrument—a fully automated genetic analyzer
used to rapidly identify multiple pathogens, bacteria, and viruses
including COVID-19. LexaGene’s breakthrough technology is highly
accurate, designed to be used at sample collection sites, and can
deliver test results on 27 pathogens and/or antimicrobial
resistance factors at once in about an hour. LexaGene is already
working with the FDA on its submission plan for Emergency Use
Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 testing. Similarly, Roche
Holdings (OTCQX: RHHBY) is ramping up
production of its antibody tests to meet the ever-growing demand.
Medical technology company Hologic,
Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX), primarily
focused on women’s health, has shifted focus to battle COVID and
has created tests that detect genetic material from SARS-CoV-2.
Vaxart,
Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT) is working on a
potential vaccine, while Gilead
Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is
focused on therapeutics to shorten recovery time for severely ill
COVID-19 patients. From every angle, the entire planet is focused
on beating this disease and finding a way back to some semblance of
normalcy.
Click here to view the
custom infographic of the LexaGene Holdings Inc. (TSX.V:
LXG)editorial.
Test, Test, Test
Testing is the first and foremost tool in the fight against the
coronavirus. But with cases in the US and around the world
skyrocketing, the need for faster, more accurate tests is urgent.
Public health experts across the globe agree that early detection
is paramount to controlling the spread of the disease. Fast,
accurate testing allows for contact tracing and isolating
infections to stop rampant spread, but the country is falling short
on testing as demand for tests far outstrips supply and
availability. Sad and dramatic evidence of urgency could be found
in Phoenix recently – people witnessed an 8-hour wait for testing
followed by 10 business days to get results as hospital ICU beds
reached capacity. There’s little evidence that the near future will
prove any better without improved testing.
A New Paradigm in Testing
Massachusetts-based LexaGene (TSX.V: LXG) (OTCQB: LXXGF)
(LXG
Profile) is establishing a new
paradigm in pathogen detection. From inception, LexaGene has
focused on developing a fully automated genetic analyzer that
rapidly screens for multiple pathogens at once—namely COVID-19,
influenza, RSV, adenovirus, metapneumovirus, and seasonal
coronavirus, and performs gold-standard chemistry for exceptional
data quality. LexaGene’s unique open-access pathogen detection
instrument is designed to quickly detect multiple pathogens
simultaneously with sensitivity and specificity; to be compact,
portable, and easily used at sample collection sites; and to
efficiently return results in about one hour.
Using microfluidic technology, LexaGene’s flagship MiQLab(TM)
analyzer (previously named LX Analyzer) can screen
samples for up to 27 different pathogens and/or antimicrobial
resistance factors at once and produces results in about one hour.
The MiQLab analyzer offers a set of features not currently
available in the market today. The technology’s open-access feature
allows researchers in biotech, pharma, and academic laboratories to
customize their testing, whether it is to detect rare infectious
diseases, screen for cancer, or perform mRNA expression profiling.
Researchers and scientists who currently spend hours manually
performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) because they have custom
testing needs, are now able to run those same tests in a fully
automated fashion. What’s more, LexaGene’s technology can be
configured to process large volume samples, for extreme
sensitivity. The open-access feature makes the system uniquely
poised to become a critical part of preventing the spread of
emerging strains of new infectious diseases to help avert future
pandemics like COVID-19.
Efficacy Imperative
Perhaps nowhere is efficacy so urgent as in the current quest
against coronavirus. In a testament to efficacy, LexaGene recently
placed a pre-commercial instrument for COVID-19 testing in a major
US hospital laboratory. Just over a month ago LexaGene
announced it had placed an instrument that tests for COVID-19
and other respiratory pathogens at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center’s Laboratory for Clinical Genomics and Advanced Technology
(CGAT) in Hanover, New Hampshire.
“Our standard test for SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that causes
COVID-19, takes about 7.5 hours. Given the highly contagious nature
of this virus, this is a long time to wait,” stated professor and
Vice Chair for Research Director at CGAT Dr. Gregory Tsongalis,
PhD, HCLD, CC. “We want the ability to get results much faster and
to be able to screen for more pathogens at once since respiratory
symptoms can be caused by numerous other viruses.”
“We are excited to be able to contribute to the fight against
COVID-19 and illustrate our applications in the human clinical
space,” commented
LexaGene founder and CEO Dr. Jack Regan. “Unlike many of the
near-patient testing solutions used today that only look for
COVID-19 and have a significant false negative rate, the instrument
we have placed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock screens for many pathogens at
once, namely COVID-19, influenza, RSV, adenovirus, metapneumovirus,
and seasonal coronavirus, and it performs gold-standard chemistry
for exceptional data quality. Our breadth of detection allows
users of our technology to generate informative data for the vast
majority of people with respiratory symptoms. This is particularly
important as healthcare providers are increasingly questioning
negative results from COVID-19 only tests, wondering if the test
result is a false negative or the person is sick from another
pathogen.”
LexaGene recently provided an update on
COVID-19 testing at CGAT. “From the samples tested to date, we
have detected numerous positive COVID-19 samples as well as
negative samples which are equally important,” Regan added. “In
contrast to many technologies that only provide a ‘yes’ or ‘no’
answer as to whether the virus was detected, LexaGene’s technology
provides quantitative data on how much virus is detected.”
“By quantifying the amount of virus present, we can help
clinicians determine if a patient is possibly early in the
infection cycle, late in the infection cycle, or if their immune
system successfully contained the growth of the virus. In the
hospital study, we have detected COVID-19 positive samples that are
more than 25,000-fold different in the amount of detected virus.
Quickly identifying individuals with such high viral loads is
especially important for disease containment,” he concluded.
Announced in the same release, LexaGene has received comments
back from the FDA on its submitted plan for Emergency Use
Authorization (EUA) for COVID-19 testing. Since submitting the
application, the FDA updated its template for manufacturers,
changing some requirements. LexaGene has amended its plan and is
now waiting for further communication from the FDA, which it
anticipates soon. Per industry standards, until proposed studies
are completed, and the FDA grants LexaGene’s instrument EUA for
COVID-19 testing, all work using LexaGene instruments is classified
as “Research Use Only.”
Savvy investors can easily intuit what will happen to LexaGene
if EUA approval is granted. Given the efficacy, accuracy, ease of
use, and critical global demand – it’s hard to imagine that
LexaGene’s breakthrough testing technology won’t gain approval in
the midst of this unprecedented crisis.
In the Fight
Fear is the only thing spreading faster than this disease, and
the entire planet is focused on combating it.
Roche
Holdings (OTCQX: RHHBY) is the world’s largest biotech
company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology,
immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and diseases of the
central nervous system. Roche is also the world leader in in vitro
diagnostics and tissue-based cancer diagnostics, a frontrunner in
diabetes management and is ramping up production of its antibody
tests to meet ever-growing demand.
Hologic,
Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) is an innovative medical
technology company focused on improving women’s health through
early detection and treatment. Like many others, the company
shifted focus to battle COVID and has created tests that detect
genetic material from SARS-CoV-2. Hologic recently received
Emergency Use
Authorization from the FDA for its Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay to
detect the novel coronavirus.
Vaxart, Inc.
(NASDAQ: VXRT) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company
developing oral vaccines that are administered by tablet rather
than by injection. The company just announced that its oral
COVID-19 vaccine has been selected to participate
in a non-human primate challenge study, organized and funded by
Operation Warp Speed.
Gilead Sciences
Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is a research-based
biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and
commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need.
Gilead is working closely with global health authorities to respond
to the novel coronavirus outbreak through the appropriate use of
the therapeutic drug remdesivir.
For further information on LexaGene (TSX.V: LXG) (OTCQB:
LXXGF) please
visit LexaGene.
About NetworkNewsWire
NetworkNewsWire
(“NNW”) is a financial news and content distribution company, one
of 40+ brands within the InvestorBrandNetwork (“IBN”), that
provides: (1) access to a network of wire
solutions via NetworkWire to
reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most
effective manner possible; (2) article and
editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3)
enhanced press release solutions to ensure maximum
impact; (4) social media distribution via IBN
millions of social media followers; and (5) a full
array of corporate communications solutions. As a multifaceted
organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and
writers, NNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and
public companies that desire to reach a wide audience comprising
investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By
cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, NNW
brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand
awareness. NNW is where news, content and information converge.
To receive SMS text alerts from NetworkNewsWire, text
“STOCKS” to 77948 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information, please visit https://www.NetworkNewsWire.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the
NetworkNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by NNW,
wherever published or re-published: http://NNW.fm/Disclaimer
NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com
NetworkNewsWire is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork
DISCLAIMER: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) is the source of the Article
and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than
the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry
participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and
do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. The
commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by NNW are
solely those of NNW. Readers of this Article and content agree that
they cannot and will not seek to hold liable NNW for any investment
decisions by their readers or subscribers. NNW is a news
dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are
NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no
investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy
any security.
The Article and content related to the profiled company
represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are
subject to change at any time without notice. The information
provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from
sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the
Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all
such information. None of the Author, NNW, or any of their
respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of
any such information. This Article and content are not, and should
not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation
regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are
strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and
review all of the profiled issuer’s filings made with the
Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment
decisions and should understand the risks associated with an
investment in the profiled issuer’s securities, including, but not
limited to, the complete loss of your investment.
NNW HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and
such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. “Forward-looking statements” describe future expectations,
plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words
such as “may”, “future”, “plan” or “planned”, “will” or “should”,
“expected,” “anticipates”, “draft”, “eventually” or “projected”.
You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude
of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances,
events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results
may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors, and other risks
identified in a company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and
other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the
forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue
reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this
release are made as of the date hereof and NNW undertakes no
obligation to update such statements.
Source:
NetworkNewsWire
Contact:
NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
Editor@NetworkNewsWire.com
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
