Biocept says it has processed more than 20,000 COVID-19 specimens at its San Diego lab

Biocept Inc (NASDAQ:BIOC) announced Monday it has received more than 21,000 COVID-19 specimens and processed more than 20,000 to date using RT-PCR technology at its San Diego lab.  The company said it has distributed about 46,000 COVID-19 PCR specimen collection kits to-date and has approximately 34,000 additional collection kits assembled and available for immediate distribution. The vast majority of COVID-19 test results were reported to healthcare providers within 48 hours of receipt of the specimen. "The number of COVID-19 specimens received by our lab has increased consistently since we began distributing specimen collection kits in late June," said CEO Michael Nall in a statement. READ: Biocept expands availability of its COVID-19 testing services via large healthcare network "We have assembled over 80,000 specimen collection kits to date and have reordered components for an additional 80,000. While the majority of health providers who have received our specimen collection kits to date are from California, we are now serving customers in multiple states and the growth is coming from all territories served.” Nall added: "To accommodate the robust demand for this testing, we have increased staffing and implemented automation to support our ability to process the high levels of COVID-19 samples we are seeing. Importantly, we are processing COVID-19 tests quickly, with the vast majority of results to date sent to health providers within 48 hours of receiving a sample at an average reimbursement of approximately $100 per specimen. We expect COVID-19 testing to have a significant impact on third-quarter revenue.” Biocept’s lab is high-complexity, CLIA certified and CAP accredited with a BSL-2 safety level. Its specialized, licensed molecular lab staff who have been trained in performing the COVID-19 testing. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham