NEW YORK — IncellDx said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to validate and launch its COVID-19 cytokine storm panel with MD Biosciences.
IncellDx has been developing a test for cytokine storm-related cytokines, which it said are elevated in COVID-19 patients and often remain at abnormal levels in so-called long-haulers — individuals who are recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection but continue to experience symptoms. The San Carlos, California-based company previously said that it plans to submit the test to the US Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization.
Under the terms of the deal, MD Biosciences will validate the test and being offering it through its CLIA-certified labs in the US and Europe. The agreement also covers receptor occupancy assays for CCR5-directed therapeutics, which are being evaluated as treatments for COVID-19, but specific details were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to get these solutions out prior to the approval of cytokine storm-related therapeutics, and in the short term, are focused on helping those COVID-19 patients still suffering symptoms long after diagnosis," IncellDx CEO Bruce Patterson said in a statement. "To that effort, we will be establishing a COVID-19 long-hauler diagnosis and treatment initiative involving a multi-disciplinary approach to improving the lives of those suffering long-term symptoms."