COVID-19 Testing Industry Consortium formed by 19 United Healthcare Organizations

Widespread accurate testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is one critical aspect needed to limit the spread of the disease. By creating the COVID-19 Testing Industry Consortium, 19 organizations from the healthcare industry have joined forces with a goal to help inform, improve, innovate and accelerate various aspects of testing, ranging from research to clinical diagnostic applications.

The consortium brings together a diverse group of companies with synergistic areas of expertise, including precision medicine, diagnostics, occupational health, pharmaceuticals and clinical testing laboratories, to help provide clarity and potential solutions to COVID-19 testing challenges. To advance the goals of the consortium, members may:

– Share relevant expertise, materials and experiences to accelerate understanding of COVID-19.
– Analyze available scientific and health data, materials and information to develop, improve and deploy current assays and new approaches for the COVID-19 testing paradigm.
– Contribute knowledge gained from the collaborative research by publishing work that will inform the scientific community and general public of the consortium’s findings.

The consortium was organized and is led by Bristol Myers Squibb. Consortium members include:
– Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
– ArcherDx, Inc.
– Biocartis NV
– Color
– Diaceutics, PLC
– DxTerity Diagnostics, Inc.
– Genosity, Inc.
– Hematogenix Laboratory Services
– Infinity BiologiX
– Interpace Pharma Solutions, Inc.
– Janssen Pharmaceutica, NV
– LabCorp
– NeoGenomics Laboratories, Inc.
– Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research
– Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Inc.
– Syngene International Limited
– Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”)

“To uncover innovative ways to improve COVID-19 testing quickly during this global pandemic, it’s critical that we break down silos and bring together researchers from different organizations with complementary areas of expertise,” said Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president, Translational Medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb. “This is just one of the many ways that the healthcare community is working together to help solve the COVID-19 pandemic. BMS is proud to lead this consortium and we look forward to building upon the important work that’s already been done in this space.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the many ways in which the US public health infrastructure is broken,” said Color CEO, Othman Laraki. “We are happy to bring our experience with large-scale, tech-enabled public health testing to a consortium dedicated to increasing access to fast, reliable testing.”

For the latest information on Color’s efforts, visit https://www.color.com/covid. For media inquiries, email press@color.com.