Consortium of Medical Schools Led by Mount Sinai Fast-Tracking COVID-19 Detection Test Utilizing Fluidigm Microfluidics Technology

Speed and scale of Fluidigm microfluidics technology to facilitate early-stage host monitoring for COVID-19

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluidigm Corporation (Nasdaq:FLDM), an innovative biotechnology tools provider with a vision to improve life through comprehensive health insight, today announced that a consortium of medical schools led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is utilizing Fluidigm microfluidics technology to create an epigenetic test for early detection of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The spread of this disease has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.

Part of the Epigenetic CHaracterization and Observation (ECHO) program of the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the consortium is developing a test using real-time PCR for host detection assays targeting epigenome and viral RNA for early-stage monitoring of potentially infected individuals.

Incorporating the Fluidigm Biomark HD system and the company’s microfluidics technology, a single integrated fluidic circuit (IFC) can screen 192 samples across 24 different parallel processed assays to allow early detection of the virus infection. Labs will be able to generate more than 6,000 individual test results per day with just one hour of hands-on time, representing a scale and parallel processing of assays not possible using microwell plates.

The consortium led by the Icahn School of Medicine plans to submit the test for Emergency Use Authorization, in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, for a high-throughput screening assay for COVID-19 based on robust real-time PCR. It will employ the high-throughput sample processing capacity of the Biomark HD coupled with parallel multi-assay interrogation of microfluidics.

“Speed, scale and early detection are critical in addressing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ability to rapidly screen a large number of samples will enhance capabilities in identification and management of infected individuals, including those who are asymptomatic,” said Chris Linthwaite, President and CEO of Fluidigm. “We believe the application of Fluidigm microfluidics technologies to epigenetic testing for COVID-19 has significant potential to increase the speed and capacity of these critical screening efforts.