Pandemic Response Lab Detects First Omicron Cases in New York City

Quick turnaround time and genomic surveillance capability support new variant detection for COVID-19

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pandemic Response Lab (PRL), part of Opentrons Labworks Inc., reported the discovery of the first four Omicron cases in New York City. The announcement was made by Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday evening.¹ This underscores the importance of fast and accurate testing and sequencing as part of the mitigation strategy to further contain the spread of new variants of concern.

“PRL is committed to a coordinated response with public health officials in the fight against COVID-19,” said Jonathan Brennan-Badal, CEO of PRL. “We have built up multiple CLIA labs across the country infrastructures to prepare for volume surges and to support safe return- to- work initiatives.”

To date, PRL’s molecular PCR test continues to accurately detect SARS-CoV-2 and its known variants, including Omicron. Further, PRL’s unique massively parallel Next Generation sSequencing platform enables PCR-positive tests to be rapidly sequenced and thus variant identification can be performed on a population scale for epidemiologic surveillance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, PRL has demonstrated its leadership as the preferred lab partner by providing consistent high-quality, technologically advanced, low-cost services aimed at improving patient outcomes. PRL has processed over five million COVID-19 tests and handles more than 30,000 tests per day.

About Opentrons Labworks, Inc

Opentrons Labworks develops integrated lab platforms that serve life science and healthcare customers via the Opentrons Robotics, Pandemic Response Labs (aka PRL), Neochromosome, and Zenith AI subsidiaries. For more information, please visit pandemicresponselab.com.

References
[1] Transcript: Mayor de Blasio, governor Hochul update New Yorkers on the Omicron variant. The official website of the City of New York. https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/801-21/transcript-mayor-de-blasio-governor-hochul-new-yorkers-the-omicron-variant. Published December 2, 2021. Accessed December 2, 2021.