NEW YORK — SG Blocks said on Tuesday that it has formed a joint venture with Clarity Diagnostics to establish CLIA-certified laboratories in the US.
New York City-based SG Blocks designs and builds structures using maritime-grade shipping containers. Through the joint venture — called Clarity Modular Lab Solutions — the companies will construct labs in the structures, with the first to be built near Clarity's headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida within 12 months.
While SARS-CoV-2 testing is the initial focus for Clarity Modular Lab Solutions, SG Blocks said that the labs are expected to eventually process a range of tests including ones for cancer, influenza, opioids, and urinary tract infections.
SG Blocks will hold 51 percent ownership of the joint venture. Additional details were not disclosed.
"Our simple goal is to continue to provide faster turnaround times for the most accurate and advanced testing protocols available, to be able to locate those labs, equipped with our state-of-the-art diagnostic testing capabilities, wherever the need exists," Clarity Cofounder and President Daniel Léger said in a statement. "We are committed to working with SG Blocks in using this methodology to expand our service capability across the country."
Earlier this year, SG Blocks acquired the nonexclusive distribution rights to Osang Healthcare's GeneFinder COVID-19 Plus RealAmp Kit for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, which it said it would offer through turnkey testing facilities built using shipping containers.