Under the agreement Quest with provide the South Carolina-based medical system with lab management expertise, equipment, testing, supplies, and procurement services.
Members of the FDA, CDC, and CMS, comprising the Tri-Agency Task Force for Emergency Diagnostics, will work together to quickly respond to public health needs.
Quest will provide management expertise, lab equipment, supplies, procurement processes, and reference testing to Houston Medical Center and Perry Hospital.
The agency said its aim is to analyze the way CMS has chosen to implement PAMA and to estimate the potential financial impact to Medicare as a result of those choices.
Changes in physician behavior around monitoring patient response to therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is increasing demand for clinical testing of these drugs.
Under a separate initative, the FDA would give device makers the option of demonstrating substantial equivalence to performance criteria, rather than to a predicate device.
The two-year agreement, which took effect on Jan. 1, gives Intalere members competitive pricing if they choose Medline as their primary lab distributor.
