Biomerica Begins Shipping Samples of 10 Minute Test for COVID-19 Virus Exposure

• 10-minute test for coronavirus exposure utilizing blood from a finger prick can be performed anywhere by trained professionals, e.g. airports, schools, work, doctor’s office 

• Biomerica has begun shipping samples of this COVID-19 test to multiple Ministries of Health and government agencies that have requested the product through the Company’s distributors in the Middle East, Europe, and other countries
   
• Price point of this single-use, disposable product as low as $10 per patient
   
• Biomerica has filed a provisional patent on rapid test technology to identify multiple coronavirus strains including the strain responsible for COVID-19

IRVINE, Calif., March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biomerica Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRA) today announced it has commenced shipping initial samples of its COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test (a finger prick blood test with results in 10 minutes, that can be performed by trained professionals anywhere, e.g. airports, schools, work, pharmacies and doctors’ offices) to countries outside the US. Evaluation test kits have been requested by Ministries of Health in multiple countries through the Company’s distribution partners who are working with their government agencies to assess the tests and forecast demand. This disposable point-of-care serology test is different than the current polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in that initial studies indicate that serology tests can identify if someone has been exposed to the COVID-19 virus, and can further detect if a person was recently infected with the disease even if they have never shown or are no longer showing symptoms. This can help health agencies focus on prior contacts of persons previously infected. Existing PCR tests generally only show positive if a person is currently infected and the virus is still present. Furthermore, PCR tests require patient samples to be sent to a lab, thus increasing the cost of the test and reducing the speed to obtain a result. Biomerica’s test could also be used in conjunction with the PCR test by rapidly pre-screening larger groups of individuals, who if tested positive could be further tested using a PCR test for verification.