Lee's Summit-based Eurofins Viracor will start offering a cutting-edge blood test that can assess organ damage from Covid-19.
The clinical specialty lab signed an exclusive license agreement with Cornell University to commercialize the blood test, which was developed by an inventor Eurofins Viracor previously worked with.
"We developed a good relationship with him over the years and just stayed in touch," Chief Scientific Officer Steve Kleiboeker said, adding that the inventor gave Eurofins Viracor a heads-up about the new blood test method he was developing.
Instead of a biopsy, physicians can use the noninvasive blood test to look at circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), an indicator of organ damage.
With typical cfDNA tests, it can be tough to pinpoint where the damage originates, Kleiboeker said. Cornell's test, however, can narrow it down to tissue and cell type. That's key for Covid-19, because muscle breakdown can be due to a patient being bedridden, and it won't affect the long-term outcome. If the test identifies lung damage, it's a more serious issue.
Ultimately, the test can help doctors determine the seriousness of the case before a patient presents additional symptoms.
"You get a preview or prediction of how severe the disease is going to be based upon this type of technology," he said.
The blood test also has additional use cases that Eurofins Viracor is initially targeting, including identifying urinary tract infections in kidney transplant patients and assessing the amount of damage to the kidney and bladder. It also can be used to track when donor bone marrow or stem cells are attacking the recipient. In the future, Eurofins Viracor plans to identify other use cases.
The blood test complements the company's specialty focus in areas such as transplants and infectious diseases, he said.
"We're more of a niche entity in the reference lab business, so we have to stay innovative to stay competitive," he said. "We can't do what everybody else does. ... One approach that Eurofins has taken over the years to succeed and maintain cutting-edge patient care is to look for innovative approaches to diagnostics."
The new blood test fits that approach and gives Eurofins Viracor a competitive advantage, he said. The Lee's Summit company also plans to use its expertise and technology to figure out how to deliver test results faster.
