Avellino Hits 1-Million Genetic Test Milestone
Avellino announced that the company has performed over 1-million genetic and molecular diagnostic tests. This milestone includes over 821,000 universal tests for TGFBI corneal dystrophy, over 180,000 AvellinoSARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 (AvellinoCoV2) tests since March 2020, and the November 2019 launch of the AvaGen genetic tests for determining risk of keratoconus and the presence of corneal dystrophies.
The company’s million-test milestone confirms Avellino’s ability to continue leading in precision medicine for eye care while helping the larger healthcare community meet the challenges of accurately detecting COVID-19, according to a company news release.
“We performed our first genetic diagnostic test for corneal dystrophies more than a decade ago in Korea. It took us 10 years to hit the 1-million test milestone, and based on our current and forecasted growth, we expect to reach the 2-million mark within just the next 2 years,” Avellino Group Chairman Gene Lee said. “That’s a testament to our unparalleled science, stable organization, and valued trust within the medical community. Physicians and surgeons continue to turn to us for the personalized medicine tools they need to diagnose disease early, and then treat safely and accurately.”
AvaGen is the first commercially available genetic diagnostic test of its kind for keratoconus and corneal dystrophies. Utilizing next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, AvaGen examines over 1,000 variants across 75 genes for keratoconus and over 70 mutations of the TGFBI gene for corneal dystrophies.
Board member Jim Mazzo added, “At the moment, we’re performing thousands of highly accurate AvellinoCoV2 RNA-based genetic tests every day for the detection of COVID-19. With such a demand for accuracy and fast turnaround, I’m proud of the Avellino team and network who have worked around the clock to get these tests to healthcare professionals and their patients. We are proud to serve the nursing facilities, universities, employers, states, counties, and cities that rely on us during this time. A pandemic like the novel coronavirus requires cooperation and collaboration among everyone in the healthcare community. We’ll continue to help overcome this global challenge by delivering purpose-driven solutions.”
The AvellinoCoV2 test is a rt-PCR test that helps clinicians diagnose coronavirus, the disease caused by a SARS-CoV-2 virus expression, even before symptoms develop. AvellinoCoV2 works by identifying and isolating two specific N-Genes, genetic markers that are part of the virus’ genetic sequence previously identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These two N-Genes are known to be stable and accurate indicators of the virus, even if the virus were to mutate into more strains. Maintaining a fast turnaround on results is critical to medical and quarantine decisions, and Avellino has been able to report 95% of tests within 48 hours of receiving samples and information.
To learn more about Avellino, visit www.avellino.com and www.avellinocoronatest.com.