By GREGORY ZELLER //
One year after perfecting the Pandemic Pivot, an innovative Plainview laboratory is doubling down on its unparalleled COVID-19 testing abilities – even as the vaccines flow.
In fact, as more people are inoculated and governments on every level continue to ease COVID-related restrictions, testing for coronavirus mutations becomes even more important – and “it’s critical that organizations have easy access” to fast and accurate results, according to Acupath Laboratories.
Fast and accurate COVID-19 testing is now Acupath’s big thing. Founded in 1998 primarily as a cancer-diagnostics expert, the biotech spun to novel coronavirus detection in early 2020, quickly earning FDA Emergency Use Authorization for its COVID-19 real-time polymerase chain reaction assay.
Not only did the quick COVID detector work, it has legs. This month, Acupath – one of only a handful of statewide commercial labs licensed to perform COVID-19 testing, and the only on Long Island boasting more than two decades of lab-testing experience – processed its 500,000th real-time nasal specimen.
Jeff Boschwitz: Hitting the target, quickly.
“Real time,” of course, is relative: Acupath’s COVID-19 PCR assay guarantees an in-lab turnaround time of 24 hours or less.
That sounds interminable, compared to the snappy 15-minute turnaround of rapid antigen testing, but rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 is notoriously unreliable – and the ability to produce accurate PCR results in less than a day “is a game-changer” for larger-scale organizations, according to Jeff Boschwitz, Acupath Laboratories’ general manager for COVID-19 testing.
“The real issue in the marketplace is time,” Boschwitz said. “It’s well-known that PCR testing has far fewer false-negative results than the 15-minute rapid antigen test, however the lag in receiving PCR results can offset this advantage and rush-testing fees are often exorbitant.”
Offering its 24-hour-or-less (or the testing is free) guarantee “at the lowest possible cost” is critical for “those whose path to reopening depends on having the highest quality, most sensitive testing option available,” Boschwitz added.
It’s also a juicy vertical for Acupath, which over the past year has expanded its customer base considerably.
Ouch, ouch, 500,000 times, ouch: Acupath has already processed a half-million COVID nasal swabs.
Focused for most of its 23 years on sub-specialized anatomic pathology services for urologists, gastroenterologists, dermatologists, hematologists and other specialized healthcare providers, the Plainview laboratory now reaches into multiple sectors, including nursing homes, urgent care facilities, TV/film production studios and other industries where lots of people need lots of testing, and that right quick.
“Our lab staff has truly gone above and beyond over the last 10 months to ensure we could continue meeting our clients’ needs as they shifted due to the pandemic,” noted Acupath Chief Sales Officer John Cucci. “We pride ourselves on the quality of our results and the relationships with our customers.”
Noting the need for continued speed, Acupath – intent on school districts, sports/entertainment venues and other well-populated industries where quickness counts – said this week it will focus specifically on customers “in the tri-state area,” allowing samples to be couriered directly to the Plainview laboratory within hours.
“As a local business located in the heart of Long Island, it was important to us that we help meet the demand for testing capabilities in the tri-state area,” Cucci added. “And we will continue to do so until we are on the other side of this pandemic.”
