IDbyDNA and Illumina Launch New Rapid Test to Better Detect COVID-19, Flu, Respiratory Co-Infections

October 16, 2020

Utah-based IDbyDNA announced yesterday that, in an effort to help labs better identify respiratory pathogens and avoid overuse of antimicrobial drugs, IDbyDNA and Illumina, Inc. are co-launching the new Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Target Enrichment Assay. The test, currently for research use only, will improve testing for infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and will leverage IDbyDNA’s Explify® Platform.

“We’re excited to see the innovation in testing resulting from IDbyDNA’s technology and partnership with Illumina’s next-gen sequencing,” said Kelvyn Cullimore, president and CEO of BioUtah. “This is great news for patients as we continue to respond to COVID-19 and work to keep our communities safe and our economy open.”

With Illumina’s next-generation sequencing (NGS), the test is positioned to deliver the most comprehensive detection of respiratory pathogens – testing for almost 300 pathogens – and the first one based on NGS.

Studies show a high frequency of co-infections in patients with SARS-CoV-2. In addition to targeting nearly 300 pathogens, the panel can also detect genes associated with antimicrobial resistance markers, providing insight into how the misuse of antimicrobials can lead to antibiotic resistance. IDbyDNA provides the bioinformatics software to analyze the data.