Incyte Diagnostics, a Washington Hospital Services (WHS) Industry Partner, has recently expanded pathology services to include clinical laboratory testing. The new clinical laboratory facility is located in Spokane Valley with over 13,000 square feet housing state-of-the-art diagnostic testing equipment. The laboratory provides prompt, reliable and accurate testing of clinical specimens submitted from area clinicians, clinics and hospitals, as well as those collected at Incyte Diagnostics’ patient service centers throughout the Spokane area. An extensive test menu will allow approximately 90 percent of testing to be completed in-house, while more esoteric testing will be sent to Incyte’s reference laboratory partner: Mayo Clinic Laboratories.
Although the clinical laboratory officially opened in March, there has been concurrent focus dedicated to expanding testing and securing a supply chain to meet needs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the situation continues to unfold, accurate and prompt testing has proven to be critical for hospitals in Washington and beyond. Incyte has currently completed validations for several COVID-19 testing options, including a PCR-based viral load test that is performed 7 days per week to accommodate pre-surgical screenings for active infections, and a serology test for antibodies. With capacity for 3,000 viral load tests per day and the ability to run up to 300 antibody tests per hour, Incyte is well-positioned to provide support to the regional hospital community in navigating this challenging situation.
During the process of focusing attention and resources to the unfolding COVID-19 situation, Incyte team members conducted a thorough review of the range of antibody testing options flooding the market. The Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV- 2 serology test was chosen because it has a specificity of greater than 99.8% and sensitivity of 100 percent from 14 days post infection, while showing no cross-reactivity with common cold viruses. Prior to receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA, Roche Diagnostics performed rigorous validation, testing over 5 times the standard amount of samples used by other developers. While other available tests have limited sample data or report sensitivity measures as low as 77 percent, Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 allows Incyte to report patient results with confidence.
The Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner program connects hospitals with companies to create efficiencies, lower costs and deliver exceptional health care. For more information about Incyte, or the WHS Industry Partner Program, contact Cynthia Hay at cynthiah@wsha.org or (206) 216-2526.
