Chembio Diagnostics and Stony Brook Medicine Collaborate to Identify Coronavirus Survivors

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., April 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEMI), a leading point-of-care diagnostic company focused on infectious diseases, today announced its DPP COVID-19 serological point-of-care test for the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies has been selected for use in a Stony Brook Medicine effort to recruit patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection. The study is intended to determine if convalescent blood plasma, the plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19, can help treat hospitalized patients with active COVID-19 infection. In early April, Stony Brook University Hospital received FDA approval to offer convalescent blood plasma treatment to its patients through a randomized, controlled study and is expected to enroll up to 500 patients from the Long Island area. The Chembio DPP COVID-19 test is being used to confirm that patients were infected with COVID-19 and now have adequate levels of IgG antibodies to make them eligible to donate convalescent plasma.

“We are fast-tracking this large-scale clinical trial, as every second counts when seeking lifesaving treatment for these critically ill patients,” said Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, MD, Medical Director, Perioperative Quality and Patient Safety and Professor and Vice Chair, Clinical Research and Innovation, Department of Anesthesiology at Stony Brook Medicine. “The study will assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma versus standard plasma in hospitalized adult patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.”

“Our collaboration with Stony Brook Medicine on this important study represents the next step in our COVID-19 initiative, which includes our earlier receipt of authorization to market and sell the DPP COVID-19 IgM and IgG assay system in the United States through the FDA notification process,” stated Javan Esfandiari, Executive Vice President and Chief Science & Technology Officer of Chembio. “We are pleased that our unique and proprietary DPP technology, which can separately and simultaneously detect and measure IgM and IgG antibodies specific to COVID-19, is the assay of choice for Stony Brook Medicine.”

“Our patented technology uses one of two analyzers produced by Chembio, known as MR1 and MR2, to read the test results for both IgM and IgG antibodies from finger stick blood in 15 minutes and gives a numerical result related to the amount of antibody in the sample,” said Esfandiari. “This eliminates the individual subjectivity of results and increases the sensitivity and specificity of the test.”

To learn more please view the Stony Brook Medicine announcement.

About Chembio Diagnostics
Chembio is a leading point-of-care diagnostics company focused on detecting and diagnosing infectious diseases. The company’s patented DPP technology platform, which uses a small drop of blood from the fingertip, provides high-quality, cost-effective results in approximately 15 minutes. Coupled with Chembio’s extensive scientific expertise, its novel DPP technology offers broad market applications beyond infectious disease, a number of which applications are under active development with collaboration partners. Chembio’s products are sold globally, directly and through distributors, to hospitals and clinics, physician offices, clinical laboratories, public health organizations, government agencies, and consumers. Learn more at www.chembio.com.

DPP is Chembio’s registered trademark. For convenience, this trademark appears in this release without ® symbols, but that practice does not mean that Chembio will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to the trademark.

Contact:  
Philip Taylor
Gilmartin Group
(415) 937-5406
investor@chembio.com

Source: Chembio Diagnostics, Inc.